The best of both worlds

Every time we pass through a store and catch a glimpse of a wall with the latest magazines, it seems that we become less and less shocked by racy and scandalous headlines.

Miley Cyrus is no stranger to these headlines.  On Aug. 7, 2014, the Federal Communications (FCC) began investigating NBC’s July broadcast of “Miley Cyrus: Bangerz Tour”, claiming the show was indecent and inappropriate for younger viewers. The FCC cannot entirely ban programs like Cyrus’s performance due to NBC’s first amendment rights, but they do have the authority to decide when risqué and controversial shows can be aired. However, whether or not they will exert this authority is another question.

This is not the first FCC investigation centered around Cyrus. Her infamous performance of “Blurred Lines” with Robin Thicke at the 2013 MTV Music Video Awards launched the discussion of “The Miley Effect” and how teenagers’ values and standards are so influenced by celebrities.

Today, we live in an era where anything goes. If the FCC decides to sweep these racy broadcasts under the rug, this case will be added to a growing list of examples of how our world has come to accept and expect indecency.

While these complaints may once again go unanswered by the FCC, SMCHS seems to be somewhat less affected by this phenomenon.

At school, we are held to high standards. We stand when our teachers enter the classroom and are expected to treat our peers, both inside and outside of school, with respect. Whether we are at Mass or a pep rally, it only takes a prayer to silence our entire school. At the same time, it seems almost hard to believe that roughly 1,700 teenagers are unaffected by societal trends.

While there is no doubt that SMCHS students are more respectful than the average teenager, we are by no means unaware of the fads of today.

“I think that pop culture does affect the way we act at school, but not necessarily in the way most people think,” said junior Amanda Madden. “It is more in the way we react to pop culture and whether it is positive or negative. Like with Miley Cyrus, it is not that we want to copy exactly what she is doing. It is that we make references to it in our everyday life.”

Though SMCHS students have grown up in a society where anything goes, pop culture has yet to influence our characters. This is especially seen on the SMCHS campus, where the values of Caritas Christi are promoted and expected.

Another reason our campus is immune to these influences may well be because of the school’s uniform policy. While students aren’t incredibly fond of uniforms, SMCHS certainly benefits from them.

Math teacher Carol Smith, who has taught at SMCHS since 1990, believes that SMCHS students are limited in what trends and fads they are able to bring into the school because of school uniforms — and that’s a good thing.

“When I first started teaching here, they [students] were limited in what they could do and what fads they could bring in because of their uniforms and the policies were much stricter,” Smith said. “They had to wear belts, shirts had to be tucked in, they could only wear certain kinds of shoes.”

Twenty five years later, even though the policies have loosened up, Smith sees that the school’s uniform policy still provides a buffer between students and negative influences of current trends and fads.

Dean Jerry Holloway sees pop influence in student’s hairstyles more than anything, which isn’t a big deal. However, he does not believe pop culture affects whether students break the dress code. The same rules have been violated for years, even as societal trends have come and gone. Rather, he said that students do not need to follow the latest trends to express themselves.

“I think students express their personalities by showing what interests they have and clubs and sports they are in,” Holloway said. “They wear clothing to express that they are happy to be part of the group and proud of it, which students should be.”

SMCHS students truly have “the best of both worlds” because we are aware of the trends created by pop culture, but do not allow them to affect the people we are and values we have.

As high school students, it is nearly impossible to be entirely isolated from the impact of pop culture. However, it is a true testament to the SMCHS students’ character given their unique ability to be surrounded by this culture, but remain unfazed by it.