• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

SLA Media

SLAMedia is a publication of the news for the Science Leadership Academy community. Writers come from the student body in 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. We work in unison to create a functioning paper with biweekly postings on a variety of events.

  • News
  • Features
  • Sports
  • A&E
  • Op/Ed
  • Multimedia
  • About

Wardrobe of SLA

May 5, 2022 by Harper Leary Leave a Comment

By Harper Leary Staff Writer

Philadelphia is a diverse city, and the student population of Science Leadership Academy reflects that fact— not just with their identities, but also with their fashion choices. If you walk down the hallways of SLA, your head will turn every which way to get a glimpse of all the different outfits. Baggy pants, Nike sweatpants, Yeezys, graphic t-shirts, leggings, and pajama bottoms are typical at the school but don’t even cover half of what is worn. 

Sophomore Miles Shenk stands in front of white wall. Photo by Harper Leary

“I just think there are a lot of different kinds of people. And when a few people take a risk in fashion, other people are more likely to take a risk and feel comfortable taking it,” said sophomore Cana Berkey-Gerard.

The social formations at SLA do influence student fashion, but not always in the way you might expect. Some friend groups dress similarly, and others look like they’re all from different decades. No classroom looks the same when it comes to clothing. School is a perfect place to express oneself, and the students at SLA have taken on the challenge. 

Fanta Dukuly, a sophomore, noted that people wear what they feel the most comfortable in, whether sweatpants or jeans. 

As a Muslim, Dukuly dresses modestly, and it does influence her clothing choices. “It definitely is harder [to find clothing as a Muslim]. Most of the clothes that you will find online, you would be like, ‘I would definitely rock that,’ but it’s a crop top, and I can’t wear that.”

Sophomore Fanta Dukuly stands in front of grey wall in stairwell. Photo by Harper Leary

Despite some obstacles, Dukuly has no trouble finding outfits through which she can express herself. She is often seen wearing colorful hijabs and dresses along with matching accessories.  

Whether for religious or personal reasons, many students have some rules or guidelines that they follow for what they will wear and what they won’t. There are some outliers, though. They can’t be put into any box; their wardrobe has pieces that fit into every category. 

Sophomore Na’im Faulkner stands in front of lockers. Photo by Harper Leary

Junior Yahil Ortiz’s wardrobe includes all types of items. “I kind of stand out because I come in with dress shoes some days, I come in with turtlenecks, I come in with different types of jackets that are so crazy; off the wall. And that’s just me.”

Ortiz is from North Philly and has noticed the geographical impact of SLA’s fashion. At the beginning of his time at SLA, he remembers the differences he noted just from where people are from in the city.

 “I met some people that were from my part of the city, Northeast and North, and they dress how I dress— tight jeans, graphic t-shirts, newest Nikes and Jordans,” he said. “And then you have some people that dress really urban and they were from South Philly.”

Another factor is ethnicity and racial background. Ortiz is Haitian and Dominican, and because of that culture, he feels that he can pull off things that other people can’t. “I could come into school with a durag and then I could come to school with a tie the next day,” he said, “Because of that, I have so much leeway in what I wear.”

Sophomores [from left to right] Lily Weston, Ellie Palandro, and Marly Leventon stand in front of lockers. Photo by Harper Leary

Chris Lehmann,  the founder and current principal at Science Leadership Academy purposefully has an open dress code. Despite receiving backlash for it before, he stands by it. “I think that how we choose to express ourselves in the way that we dress is a part of who we are,” he says, “One of the reasons to have boundaries is so that teenagers can figure them out and push up against them.”

Filed Under: Features, Uncategorized

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

* Copy This Password *

* Type Or Paste Password Here *

124,223 Spam Comments Blocked so far by Spam Free Wordpress

Primary Sidebar

FacebookInstagramTwitter Snapchat

Features

New Teacher Profile: Alexis Clancy

Braylon Dunlap Staff Writer As many people know, there are a few new additions to SLA’s staff this year with a brand new member being History Teacher Alexis Clancy. If you’re in her advisory or African American history class you may have already met her but there are some other interesting things about Ms. Clancy […]

New Teacher Profile: Mercedes Broughton-Garcia

By Maya Smelser Staff Writer SLA recently welcomed Spanish teacher Mercedes Broughton-Garcia, or Ms. Garcia to her students. After spending 7 years as a science teacher next door at Ben Franklin High School, she is transitioning to life at SLA. Background & Family Life “That’s a loaded question,” Ms. Garcia replied when asked where she […]

Wardrobe of SLA

By Harper Leary Staff Writer Philadelphia is a diverse city, and the student population of Science Leadership Academy reflects that fact— not just with their identities, but also with their fashion choices. If you walk down the hallways of SLA, your head will turn every which way to get a glimpse of all the different […]

How the Pandemic has Changed Live Events

By Maya Smelser & Anouk Ghosh-Poulshock Staff Writers Everyone remembers their first concert. But when the pandemic hit, many tours were canceled or rescheduled. There was a hiatus from live music as people adjusted to their new lives– so many teens missed out on their early concert experiences..  In the past few months, however, concerts […]

How Are SLA Students Are Dealing With Their Last Quarter?

Leticia Desouza Staff Writer After a long yet quick year at SLA, students from different grades have experienced many new things they weren’t able to experience during the 2020-2021 online academic year. After almost 10 months of being back in school, students have encountered difficulties and new experiences that further molded how the rest of […]

Categories

  • A&E
  • Cartoons
  • Covid
  • Faces of 440
  • Features
  • Movies
  • Movies
  • Multimedia
  • News
  • Op/Ed
  • Photos
  • Sports
  • The Rocket Record
  • Uncategorized

Recent Comments

  • martin on Song Review: “Origo”
  • Mekhi Granby on Album Review: Restoration of An American Idol
  • Meymey Seng on Album Review: Culture by Migos
  • Kelsey Brown on Album Review: Restoration of An American Idol
  • Angela Rice on SLA’s New Building Engineer, Ikea

Copyright © 2025 · Metro Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in