Dressing the Part
Morehouse College, an institution for African-American men, has instituted a dress code. President Robert M. Franklin has stressed the “five wells”: to be well-read, well-spoken, well-traveled, well-dressed and well-balanced. The clothing aspect of this philosophy is receiving more attention lately, as Morehouse just instituted an “appropriate attire” policy, which specifies that low-slung pants, d0-rags, t-shirts with derrogatory messages, baseball caps indoors, and women’s clothing may not be worn. In addition, dressier clothes must be worn for special events.
The code won’t force most students to change their style, Franklin points out; on average, Morehouse students are snappier dressers than other college students. However, some gay students have objected to the dress code, as there are a handful of gay students who wear women’s clothing on occasion.
Morehouse is a private institution, which means they have considerable latitude to implement a dress code to fit their vision of the “Morehouse Man,” and encourage their students to dress more formally. Do the protesting students have a case? Where’s the line between institutional standards and personal freedom?
Tags: Students