At this year’s annual rules reading, one particular announcement drew an audible gasp from the audience: “No senior shirts.” For many seniors who looked forward to wearing this symbol of class pride, the rule felt like a sudden loss of tradition. Within days, students organized a petition, spoke with administrators, and sparked a school-wide conversation about the purpose of senior shirts.

This is not a new rule, but rather a clarification of the rules already in place around the Raider Friday dress code, which allows only official ‘Iolani apparel to be worn. According to Ms. Lori Yoneda ’94, the Dean of Students, since before the introduction of this rule, senior shirts have never fit those guidelines because they are not school-issued merchandise. They were never explicitly forbidden since the shirts honor the ‘Iolani students for their affiliation with their respective sports. As a result of this announcement, a group of senior prefects organized a petition that quickly gathered over 450 signatures and met with Ms. Yoneda on Sept. 3 to discuss a possible compromise.

For many students, the shirts symbolize more than casual school swag. Kai C. ’26 described the difference: “While regular ‘Iolani branded shirts do show off our community, it’s not nearly as impactful as having the last name of one of your classmates on your back.” For students, being able to show off a friend’s senior shirt is an important way to externalize solidarity and support for one another.

Another concern for students is that this rule will potentially lead to a loss of the shirts entirely. Eric C. ’26 commented, “There goes all the [senior] shirts I got. It was like five to six of them…We have a cross country one, but now that’s gone, what’s the point of making one?” Investing in many of these shirts and not being able to use them during the school day has been especially frustrating among the student community.

From the administration’s perspective, however, the clarification highlights deeper concerns about fairness. “The other things that I need to balance are the equity for all students and to balance ‘Iolani traditions and standards,” Ms. Yoneda said. Cost was a central issue raised: “There are some students who… might not have the money to make a senior shirt, and it does feel like othering when you don’t get to have a senior shirt.” For her, maintaining an inclusive Raider Friday standard is just as important as recognizing senior identity. Despite this, Ms. Yoneda understood the value of senior shirts to students and said, “one thing that… I do understand and I’m empathetic to is that a lot of the fall sports, they didn’t know this rule, and they made senior shirts, and they want to have a chance to wear it.”

While the rules stand as written, Ms. Yoneda commends the senior prefects for their efforts and urges students to maintain similar dialogue between students: “I really want to give credit to the senior prefects in calling this meeting and giving me the opportunity to speak with them, and I encourage other people to really talk and share with us.”