I went to a very posh girl's school in Melbourne. Our summer uniform included long white socks. There was a secret rule amongst the students that the socks should be down around the ankles. So it was a constant battle of teachers telling girls to pull their socks up , and girls pushing them down as soon as the teacher's back was turned. That year they formed the first Student Representative Council, and the only thing they achieved was getting short socks added to the uniform as an acceptable alternative to long socks.
A few years later, I ran into a friend's younger sister, who was at the school several years after me. She was on the SRC. I mention to her how useless the SRC was that year, as the socks rule change was the only thing they did. "Oh my God!" she said "Only a dork would wear short socks!"
Every time I read The Rules I think of this story.