Written by Tiana Foster, Staff Writer

For some, March 14 is now known as LeggingGate.

United Airlines stirred up a lot of anger and confusion after refusing two young female passengers entry to their flight from Denver to Minnesota. They were stopped because of what they were wearing: a pair of leggings.

However, some may be confused on all the details. United Airlines has a strict dress code policy for its employees that also applies to any traveler who uses a buddy pass, which grants a free or discounted flight for friends and family of employees.

While some were confused on why the women were blocked, others were angry because of the reasoning. According to a United Airlines statement, the passengers violated the company’s dress code policy and could not benefit from the airline perk. The airline said it expects family and friends of employees to properly represent the airline and follow the same dress code as employees.

I agree with those who thought the airline was being a little too pushy. It doesn’t seem right to deny flights to family and friends of employees because of their dress code. I understand the company’s reasoning; however, those women were not the ones employed by the airline.

There are travelers everyday who wear what they want as long as it doesn’t violate the dress code for regular customers. Why should it be any different for travelers using the buddy pass?

But, why was this incident receiving so much exposure? I’m sure that this wasn’t the first time somebody was denied entry to a flight because of violating dress code.

A woman who watched as the girls were denied entry was unhappy and decided to tweet about it. Her Twitter averages around 34,000 followers, so she revealed this information to a large audience. She disagreed and pointed out the company’s sexist policy via Twitter.

The company’s Twitter account responded to all of the outrage feedback with “follow the rules” tweets. According to a statement made on the airline’s website, it repeated the company’s dress code policy and informed others that only regular customers are allowed to wear leggings.

Not everyone supported the travelers, agreeing that United Airlines has the right to refuse free or discounted flights to those individuals who don’t comply with the dress code. Other major airlines, such as Delta and American Airlines, made sure to let travelers know they welcome all their legging-wearing customers.