Student Style

April 12, 2015

The Uniforms Debate

It’s the age-old debate: do school uniforms make students focus on "the right stuff," or are they meaningless yet expensive? While mostly associated with private and parochial schools, 19 percent of public schools now require students to wear uniforms, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (U.S.). Another survey from the National Association of Elementary School Principals suggests that number may be as high as 21-49 percent with high schools and elementary schools combined.

In northern Michigan, the most wellknown school uniforms are the familiar blues of Interlochen, both the summer camp ensembles and the year-round Arts Academy attire.

T.J. Mackey, vice president of student affairs at Interlochen, thinks the benefits of a uniform code outweigh any arguments some students might have against them.

During Interlochen’s camp sessions, everyone wears the uniform – from the president of the institution to Mackey himself.

Every teacher, every camp counselor, every camper is clad in light blue on the top and navy blue on the bottom, with the different camper age divisions differentiated by belts (boys), socks (girls) and lanyards (all) of different colors.

"I like it because I can ID a group of kids just by the color they’re wearing," Mackey said. "And I know it seems strict, but we actually have universal compliance, mostly because you’d seem out of place if you weren’t wearing it. Sometimes the kids hate it, and sometimes they like it because it simplifies things."

Once the school year begins at the Arts Academy, things are a little different. Then, it’s only the students who are required to follow the dress code: blue oxford or polo shirts with blue pants or a blue skirt. However, students are allowed to wear whatever they want over their uniform – hoodies, scarves, sweaters, jackets – as a form of personalization.

While there will always be rebels, Mackey said it’s not really a large issue.

"Some of the kids complain, "˜It’s an artistic school, why aren’t we allowed to express ourselves?’ but they do. There’s still creative expression," he explained. "And I say that the uniforms actually give you more opportunity to funnel your energy into your art. I mean, look at Steve Jobs. He wore pretty much the same thing all the time, jeans and a turtleneck."

Jane McCall, the executive director of student services at TCAPS (Traverse City Area Public Schools), said that the only reason to even have a dress code at all is for safety and to make sure there are no distractions in the educational environment.

TCAPS’ school dress code doesn’t require uniforms, but includes such guidelines as banning t-shirts with offensive or inflammatory slogans, requiring hats to be removed in-school, and making sure clothing doesn’t reveal too much.

The TCAPS dress code is going through a reevaluation – something McCall said they do periodically – and they’re calling on the students themselves to help figure out what’s working and what’s not.

"We’ve brought the dress code into our "˜Student Voice’ sessions, which are essentially small focus groups of students whom we ask for feedback," McCall said.

Once the results are correlated, they’ll be presented to the school board at the end of the year to see if any improvements need to be made. But McCall thinks the current dress code is working pretty well as-is.

"If you go to any of our schools, you’ll still see our students wearing lots of different styles, fashions, and brands of clothing," McCall said. "So they do get to express their personalities. The dress code just puts minimal restrictions on the students so what they’re wearing doesn’t interfere with the learning process."

Interlochen students also find other ways to express their fashion sense, past what their uniform code will or won’t allow.

"Some of them have hair colors that I didn’t think could even exist. It’s impressive!" Mackey said. "But, the main idea of the whole thing is that we’re all on one level. We’re a community of artists and the uniform helps to bring us together."

"It also levels the students out," he continued, "you don’t have that Gucci vs. Macklemore thrift shop thing going on. It takes the competitiveness out of what you wear every day."

TWO STUDENTS SPEAK OUT:

CORA BYRNES is a sophomore at Traverse City West Senior High. Her school has a dress code, but does not require uniforms.

What is your school’s dress code like?

Our dress code is enforced by our teachers, and any person of authority is supposed to stop us from wearing clothing that exposes our shoulders, shorts that are shorter than allowed, pajama clothing and any type of shirt that exposes undergarments. The school does encourage us to wear school colors and, during homecoming week, we have theme-dressing days to show spirit for our school. But, I feel some of our dress code requirements cause an unhappy environment, with women required to dress in certain ways because of the way men (supposedly) act.

How would you feel if your school required uniforms?

I feel it would make the school less unified. School has become a social place, a place where you meet people you will have great connections with and know for a large majority of your life. Clothing also has a social aspect. It’s a way of self-expression and, by eliminating that, you’re eliminating a method of reaching out to new people. I would rather not attend a school with uniform restrictions.

So how much of what you wear to school is for personal expression and how much is to "˜follow fashion’?

A lot of it is an attempt to simply express who you are. When I get dressed in the morning, I think of it almost as an art project, such as matching colors and dressing for the mood you are in. A lot of my friends and I follow fashion blogs, and we definitely consider trends that are happening, but we use the trends as inspiration and morph them into a way to individually express our uniqueness.

What are some of the current and upcoming trends?

The "˜90s are definitely coming back into style. My friends and I wear flannels to school, velvet is huge, and Doc Martens are back. I love to wear vintage styled clothing. I have many Peter Pan collared dresses and I love floral prints.

This summer, I am looking forward to wearing lots of bohemian-styled dresses and wide brimmed hats.

NATALIE MYERS is a sophomore at Interlochen Arts Academy, which requires a uniform.

Were you surprised to find that Interlochen had a uniform requirement?

I was not surprised at all. At camp we had to wear similar uniforms and the counselors were very strict about enforcing the rules. I was not in any way opposed to or upset about it.

How do you personalize your uniform?

There’s a great deal we can do. We can wear sweaters over the shirts, a T-shirt under a shirt, and colored tights with the skirts. We can also gussy things up with scarves a lot, just as long as the shirt collar is visible. Some of my classmates express themselves by tying the shirts around their waists or wearing things like high-waisted pants and fun footwear.

What do you think the uniform requirement contributes to the overall feel of the student body and the Interlochen campus?

The uniform conveys the feel of community and family to the student body. It puts us all on the same level. Even though we come from different financial and cultural backgrounds, everyone wears the light blue shirts and navy pants. Sometimes, I wish I could wear jeans and whatever else I wanted to school, but it’s not that important. Interlochen is the only place for me and I’ll wear whatever they feel is required. I look at it as a tool to help me get ready for my day quicker. It helps me focus on my work and identify with other artists for what they do, instead of what they are wearing.

When you are off campus, what do you look forward to wearing?

We only have to be in uniform when we’re in class so, for me, that’s Monday-Friday from 8:30am to 6pm. Other than that, you can wear whatever you want, so the girls can be seen wearing high-waisted pants, skater skirts, dresses, jeans and T-shirts. Jogger pants and combat boots are also currently popular. And this summer I’m looking forward to wearing bright colors and fun knitted tops – without collars!

To Uniform or Not to Uniform?

Based on data from several research studies (University of Nevada/Youngstown University/University of Houston), plus information from procon.org and a sampling of schools that have implemented a dress code, these are some of the arguments for and against requiring school uniforms.

YES!

- Uniforms keep students focused on education, not fashion

- Uniforms create a level playing field among students who might otherwise find themselves in competition about clothing by cost or designer

- Uniforms make school safer by making outsiders on campus very visible, and leaving little room for hidden items or weapons

- Uniforms increase class spirit and pride, as well as a sense of community among schoolmates

- Uniforms save time for students, by making it easier to dress in the morning. A uniform dress code is also much easier for school staff to enforce, as any clothing choices other than the uniform simply don’t exist.

NO!

- Uniforms restrict freedom of expression

- Outside of school, uniforms seen on students traveling to/from school only serve to negatively emphasize socioeconomic differences

- Uniforms can cause dissention right on campus, giving students who do not like the uniforms something more to rebel against

- Uniforms place too much emphasis on conforming and not enough on individuality

- Forcing students into uniforms can delay adulthood, as they are not given the freedom to make proper choices on how to dress in order to express themselves