Rights come with a price
Sarah Zeeck
Issue date: 8/28/09 Section: Opinion
Recently, several students in Gainesville, Fla. in the Alachua County schools were sent home for violating dress code. They came to school with shirts bearing the words "Islam is of the Devil."
Dress code, especially in a public school district, is a tricky issue. On one hand, high school and even middle school students should have just as many free speech rights as an adult. Taking such rights from students is unconstitutional. On the other hand, education is a privilege everyone has, and clothes deemed disruptive could impede upon the learning of others, which isn't fair either.
This creates quite a grey area in the matter of free speech. The students have the right to have their own opinion, yes. They have the right to express it, yes. However, the bottom line is they do not have the right to impress their opinions on others. Just like here on campus when the "crazies" (and I use that term ever so endearingly) come to the quad and try to force their opinions on us as we trek to and from class. Even the people that agree with them become annoyed by the in-your-face approach to their ideas.
A high school is a place where growth and learning are supposed to take place. Students may be upset and feel like their rights are infringed with strict dress codes that don't allow them to wear strapless, low-cut tops or racially or religiously inflammatory material on their clothing. Students view school primarily as a social scene, which is a different issue entirely, but that drives their desire to wear risqué and offensive clothing. Because a school is not a "social scene" but rather a professional atmosphere, students should be focusing on learning rather than impressing their peers.
Once again though, there's a wrench in the cogs. If students are being told to dress all the same, generically or even in a uniform, the idea that they all need to be the same will be driven into their minds.
So, what can be done to keep students focused on school yet still expressive and unique in their dress code?
It's sticky. The administrators can try enforcing a stricter dress code without uniforms and have assemblies impressing originality, uniqueness and being themselves to buffer the monotony of their dress. Students will continue to find ways to push the barriers.
Students should be allowed to have opinions. They should be allowed to express them. Using those opinions to make their peers uncomfortable, though, is not copacetic. The line should be drawn there
Dress code, especially in a public school district, is a tricky issue. On one hand, high school and even middle school students should have just as many free speech rights as an adult. Taking such rights from students is unconstitutional. On the other hand, education is a privilege everyone has, and clothes deemed disruptive could impede upon the learning of others, which isn't fair either.
This creates quite a grey area in the matter of free speech. The students have the right to have their own opinion, yes. They have the right to express it, yes. However, the bottom line is they do not have the right to impress their opinions on others. Just like here on campus when the "crazies" (and I use that term ever so endearingly) come to the quad and try to force their opinions on us as we trek to and from class. Even the people that agree with them become annoyed by the in-your-face approach to their ideas.
A high school is a place where growth and learning are supposed to take place. Students may be upset and feel like their rights are infringed with strict dress codes that don't allow them to wear strapless, low-cut tops or racially or religiously inflammatory material on their clothing. Students view school primarily as a social scene, which is a different issue entirely, but that drives their desire to wear risqué and offensive clothing. Because a school is not a "social scene" but rather a professional atmosphere, students should be focusing on learning rather than impressing their peers.
Once again though, there's a wrench in the cogs. If students are being told to dress all the same, generically or even in a uniform, the idea that they all need to be the same will be driven into their minds.
So, what can be done to keep students focused on school yet still expressive and unique in their dress code?
It's sticky. The administrators can try enforcing a stricter dress code without uniforms and have assemblies impressing originality, uniqueness and being themselves to buffer the monotony of their dress. Students will continue to find ways to push the barriers.
Students should be allowed to have opinions. They should be allowed to express them. Using those opinions to make their peers uncomfortable, though, is not copacetic. The line should be drawn there
Be the first to comment on this story