Many students received their P.E. credit by the sweat on their brow this summer, but because of school policy, the female students seem to have sweat a bit more than the males.

When the extended school year credit enhancement (ESY) P.E. class would run on the track with no shade or any form of refuge from the sun, male students were allowed to take off their shirts in an attempt to cool down. Female students, however, were not allowed to wear sports bras without also wearing some sort of shirt.

“It was awful,” Madeline Keel, junior, said. “That was the only part of [ESY] I didn’t like.”

Keel said the controversy started when one female student tried to cool down during a work out by taking off her shirt as a “first time thing,” and the teacher stopped her immediately.

“There were other people on the field, like sports teams, but there were also two guys running without shirts,” Keel said.

Every Thursday, the P.E. classes would visit the Kirkwood pool and the female students were permitted to wear two pieces. Keel said she definitely felt that this contradicted the athletic dress code that applied when PE classes would run on the track.

The administrative office does have an athletic dress code. “I think that covering up the body in a respectful manner is our ultimate goal, but I understand that different attire is going to work for each individual sport,” Mike Havener, KHS principal, said. “Male or female, you need some type of shirt on. The dress codes are respectful to players and spectators, so everybody should be covered up.”

The athletics department’s policy is in agreement with the policies of the administrative office. “We don’t allow any of our athletes to run without shirts,” Jeff Townsend, athletics director, said. “We advise all of our coaches to not let their students practice without shirts. Now, does it happen? Yeah, and there’s not much we can do about that, but in terms of P.E., we want everyone to cover up. In P.E., There have been female students that wear a tank top over their sports bra, and that’s legitimate.”

Many students don’t see how the males have been able to bend the rules without sparking administrative intervention.

“I don’t think it’s fair. I mean it’s not like we were revealing anything,” Francie Kuczka, sophomore and P.E. student, said. “The guys get to cool off and the girls have to drudge through it. It was really annoying and you felt like you couldn’t breathe because it was so hot, and the guys were running without shirts so they were obviously revealing a lot. I don’t know, it was just really obnoxious.”