Facing Down the “Fashion Police”
Students who oppose dress codes and uniform policies have support among
educators and civil libertarians willing to take their case to court. Together
they decry the spread of “fashizm.”
A demonstration by students of Brookfield East High School in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, on a warm April morning served as a microcosm of the broad issues of
and opposition to dress codes.
As reported by Gehl (2002), twenty-five students, mostly girls, paraded in front
of the school in protest of the administration’s recent stepped-up enforcement
of its dress code. The code prohibited, among other items, clothing that
revealed too much skin. Current fashion trends (skin was in) and a hot spell
brought out some of the banned clothing, notably low-cut pants and thin-strapped
tank tops that revealed bare midriffs. The administration’s reactions were
immediate and predictable: Students were sent home to change into more
“appropriate” attire and threatened with suspension.
At the demonstration, one senior girl claimed the school administration
overreacted to the problem of exposed stomachs and backs, which were in fashion
that season. She further stated that students felt threatened by the rigid
enforcement of the dress code and the consequences of violating it (Gehl 2002).
Administrators asserted that the purpose of the dress code was to limit
distractions and disruptions in the school setting. Many students did not see
the need for the new dress policy and took issue with the motives behind it.
“Being hot in our school is way more distracting than a spaghetti-strap tank
top,” said one senior girl. “I want to see a statistic that shows this policy
has helped grades go up,” said another (Gehl 2002).
These students and their actions and comments captured the essence of opposition
to dress codes and uniform policies, which revolves around two basic points:
- Dress codes and uniform policies are shallow solutions to deeper problems.
- Dress codes and uniform policies deprive students of fundamental freedoms.
Problems More Than Skin Deep
Critics claim that strict dress codes and uniforms offer a simplistic approach
to preventing school violence and other problems. “While most parents and
teachers seek to ensure the safety and security of their school children, some
believe adopting a mandatory school uniform policy is not the appropriate method
for ensuring such safety” (King 1998).
Older students, the most outspoken challengers to dress codes and uniforms, have
received support from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). As far back as
March 1996—only two months after President Clinton expressed support for uniform
policies, which prompted the experiments of recent years—Loren Siegel, director
of the public education department of the ACLU, wrote:
If policy makers are serious about finding solutions to the problem of school
violence, maybe they should ask the real experts: the students themselves. The
ACLU recently conducted a series of focus groups and discussions with high
school students and asked them what they thought would help. Uniforms didn’t
even make it onto the list. Their suggestions:
- Since school violence mirrors that of society at large, schools should
seriously confront and discuss issues of racism and cultural conflict.
- “Safe corridor” programs should be supported to protect the safety of
students as they go to and from school.
- School entrances should be secured.
- More extracurricular activities and clubs should be established.
- Open-mike assemblies should be held on a regular basis to give students the
opportunity to express themselves.
- Programs to help students find part-time jobs should be established.
- Conflict resolution techniques should be taught. (Siegel 1996)
Siegel went on to write that debate over uniforms is a diversion and that
resources should be directed toward creating more attractive, clean, and safe
school buildings; smaller classes; well-stocked libraries; new computers; and
more elective courses such as music and art.
Basic Freedoms at Risk
Opponents argue that restrictive dress codes and uniform policies suppress
students’ freedom of self-expression, not to mention their spirit of creativity
and individualism. There are too many clones in the adult world already, they
contend. Some believe that school uniforms are analogous to prison uniforms and
cause students to feel entrapped. They also point to the loss of freedom of
parents. Schools that impose dress codes or uniform policies dictate to parents
how they should raise their children.
When asked, “What is the harm in dress codes?” on a CNN.com chat room, Nadine
Strossen, then president of the ACLU, answered:
The harms are many. From a free speech point of view, they prevent students from
expressing themselves, either directly, such as through a tee-shirt [sic] that
contains a message, or indirectly, by conveying attitudes through apparel. In
addition, dress codes violate parents’ rights to make basic decisions about the
upbringing of their children. Finally, as courts have agreed with us in many
cases, dress codes violate religious beliefs and freedoms of particular parents
and students. (Strossen in CNN.com 2001b)
As Lumsden (2001) reported, several legal challenges to dress codes and uniform
policies have asserted that students’ freedom to choose what to wear to school
is, indeed, a form a self-expression that schools have no right to infringe
upon. (See “Dress Codes and Case Law” on page 11.)
Opponents also point to a lack of conclusive evidence that dress codes have had
a positive effect on behavior and academic performance. “All we have are
self-serving, anecdotal reports from particular schools that have promoted dress
codes and are, not surprisingly, trying to justify them” (Strossen in CNN.com
2001b).
Finally, foes of uniforms note that virtually all uniform policies are in place
in elementary and middle schools, even though uniforms are promoted as a means
to halt violence among older teens. Few attempts have been made to implement
uniform policies in public high schools because they would almost certainly be
met with resistance from students approaching adulthood and determined to make
their own decisions. Even dress codes in public high schools are not always
readily accepted, as the students of Brookfield East High School recently
demonstrated.
SIDEBAR
Disadvantages of a Standard Dress Code
In 2001, the Clarksville-Montgomery County (TN) School System surveyed the local
community concerning dress-code issues. Results of the survey revealed the
following perceived disadvantages:
- Requires an initial expense of purchasing the clothes.
- Leads to inconsistent enforcement of the dress code in schools systemwide.
- Causes problems with noncompliance.
- Infringes on freedom of choice.
- Hurts families who may not be able to afford it.
- Causes everyone to look the same.
- Becomes difficult to enforce in areas that are extremely transient.
- May contribute to negative behavior such as rebelliousness.
SIDEBAR
Viewpoints
“First they threatened to suspend me for three days, but there was no way I
could miss school for a dress-code issue.”
—Jacklyn Lipovsek, student, Brookfield East High School, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
“Aside from reading and writing, public schools are supposed to be teaching
democracy. Uniforms are antithetical to teaching people how to make choices.”
—Stefan Presser, legal director, American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania
“The assistant principals won’t listen. They yell, ‘Just do it! Do it now!’”
—Damir Abdurahamnovic, student, Hillcrest High School, Dallas, Texas
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