Administration has decided to adapt a more tolerant hat policy at FHN. For a probationary period, student’s will be allowed to wear hats in the common areas of the school, and in classrooms at the teachers discretion. The change is following a survey done within the faculty where 79 percent of teachers elected to allow students to wear hats. A cabinet of student leaders, who represent eight different clubs, was also consulted to gain a students perspective on the issue.

While the question of “Why can’t we wear hats in school?” has been one on the mind of students for years, the driving force behind this change for the student representatives is that a change could increase the sense of community at FHN.

“Most of the reason students wear hats is because of illness or religious clothing,” FHN United Representative Dillon Lauer said. “If those students are allowed to wear it, then it’s more exclusive, instead of all students wearing hats then it would be inclusive and students would all be together.”

Despite the support behind the previous hat policy being removed, some faculty members still hold doubts.

“The only concerns I have are that hats and hoods can obscure faces from cameras,” Science teacher Chris Dalton said. “It also begs the question “What else is going to start changing?”.

There are no plans to change the policy on students having their hoods up. And within their own classrooms, teachers will have control over when students are permitted to wear hats.

“I plan on having no hats in my classroom while they’re seated, but while students are in the hallway I couldn’t care less,” Dalton said.  “I guess we’ll just have to see how this goes.”