Sarah Villafañe, the current president of SPLC on Campus at the College of Charleston, has recently made headlines for her courage to speak out against the dress code and perceived double standard at the college gym after she was asked by staff to change her clothes or leave the gym. She posted her response to the incident on her Facebook profile, and The Huffington Post wrote an article that read in part:
“On April 19, Sarah Villafañe posted a photo of herself on Facebook wearing yoga pants and a cropped, black tank top ― what appears to be a rather normal gym outfit. According to Villafañe’s post, however, the College of Charleston gym staff did not think her outfit was up to gym standards. ‘I’ve worn this same outfit all day. Went to 3 classes and spoke personally with each of my professors today and they didn’t have a problem,’ Villafañe wrote. ‘But when I walked into the gym they asked me to put on a different shirt. Obviously I didn’t bring an extra shirt to the gym and wasn’t about to wear my flannel while working out. So I just said mhm ok and went about my work out pretty pissed off that they even asked me to change.’ Villafañe claims that a few minutes later, the gym manager approached her and asked her to put a shirt on. She recalls that that the manager said she’d have to leave if she didn’t change.”
Villafañe also spoke about how her comfort and clothes shouldn’t be determined by the distraction it may or may not cause the men utilizing the same facilities. She expressed her disappointment with the college’s stance and her frustration about the incident itself, and said further:
“Many people have told me that they have seen girls wearing similar outfits to mine in the [College of Charleston] gym, as well as men wearing muscle tees that expose their midriffs. It is interesting to me that the men I have seen wearing jeans in the gym (a quite obvious violation of their one dress code rule, ‘Athletic attire must be worn’) were not bothered or kicked out for not abiding by the dress code rules.”
You can read the full Huffington Post article here.