By Logan Eastman
Tolo has been around for a very long time, way before the class of 2015 was here. This year’s theme was “Opposites Attract.” The spirit days, from Monday, April 20 to Friday, April 24, were: Pink vs. Blue Day; Floral vs. Flannel Day; Heroes vs. Princesses Day; Skirt vs. Tie Day; and Twin Day, in order.
A lot of people were pleased with this year’s Tolo theme.
“I like the theme,” sophomore Nataushia Stormo told the Cub. “It shows that the gender-specific themes can be mixed. Like, I saw some girls wearing flannel, instead of floral, so I guess that the themes aren’t that sexist.”
Stormo makes a good point. The spirit days didn’t specify which gender was to wear which outfit, so for the Floral vs. Flannel Day, a boy could have fun and wear a Hawaiian shirt with flowers on it, while a girl could wear a flannel shirt.
Others weren’t so thrilled. “Honestly, it’s ridiculous that the theme implies gender-specific themes,” said sophomore Shayna O’Clair. She continues, “So that’s why I’m dressed like a dude.”
While the rules did not specify which gender was to wear each outfit, the names for the days certainly hinted that they should.
Some students really didn’t care. “It’s fine, I guess,” sophomore Adara Weech told the Cub. “You get to wear whatever you want.”
The past few Tolo themes have not been as controversial as this one. This year there were many discussions concerning whether or not the Tolo theme and its spirit days are sexist. The opposing party describes the theme as “gender-specific” and “not acknowledging students’ unique style choices.”
The supporting party, on the other hand, argues that the theme is “playful to everyone” and “definitely not sexist.” It was a difficult issue to resolve.
There is one other group, though, that did not really care about the theme, spirit days, or the current argument. They just wanted to do things as they do on non-spirit days, like wear a T-shirt and jeans, hang out at home after school on a Friday, get their homework done, etc.
In fact, on the night of the Tolo dance, some students held an “Anti-Tolo” party, where people could wear their normal clothes, eat dinner, go bowling, and just hang out.
While the tolo theme may have been controversial, people still found a way to have fun with it. Some used it as a way to defy gender roles, and others did not care. Others have fun in other ways–by hosting anti-tolo and going to regular tolo. All in all, it was was one heck of week.
