Dress Codes For Students In Us Campuses?

By Author: AndrewLouis
Total Articles: 12
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Although in campuses of higher education across India it is almost the norm to have a dress code of some sort, formally stated or otherwise, it is not much of an issue in the United States. But there are exceptions to the rule even among US colleges and universities. The department of Marketing and Business Teacher Education at the Illinois State University has brought the idea of dress code to center stage. Yes, students in these classes will be forced to wear business casual clothes, and all sneakers, flip-flops, baseball caps, shorts, T-shirts, and pajama bottoms will be banned. According to a professor at the university, this dress code is simply an extension of one already imposed on some students in the sales program. Dress codes impose a financial burden on poorer students, so the argument goes among defenders of the no-dress code policy, as buying business casual clothing may force already impoverished students to go into debt.

Dress codes bring in conformity in physical appearance and in turn influence student behavior itself. That is the reason why corporations and conservative religious colleges like them. ...
... Now is this is a bad things. In the liberal settings of US campuses the idea of enforced conformity is anathema to the very idea of intelligent growth. Lack of choice in personal behavior is a form of repression. So the worst part of dress codes is that they send a message of conformity and repression.
The suppression of individual freedom is completely at odds with the nature of the university. Professors can’t impose their personal dress preferences on students. It’s even worse when an entire department seeks to impose a dress code. And it’s probably illegal. A dress code at a public college is quite unlikely to pass constitutional scrutiny. But there’s never been a case involving a dress code at a public US university, precisely because so few faculty would normally consider limiting student freedom in this way.

The US Supreme Court has never dealt with a dress code case directly. Federal appeals courts have upheld dress codes at public schools in Texas and Louisiana, but these were specifically authorized by state law for minors. Dress codes in K-12 public schools are legal only if a school has a direct interest in maintaining an effective educational environment.

In reality, dressing up is probably the least important lesson for students to learn. What students need to learn is how to think creatively, communicate effectively, and understand past and present ideas about their field. Professors and departments are perfectly free to recommend a particular style of dress for students, and to educate students about what they think is proper fashion. They can even “dress down” students who don’t conform. But they can’t throw students out of a class for wearing, for instance, a pair of tracksuits. Such action is tantamount to a rather harsh penalty, disadvantaging the student through deprivation of the education that his tuition money is supposed to provide.

This stifling of individual liberty and personal expression is precisely the opposite of what students need to learn in order to become good marketers and good teachers. Obedience without reflection shouldn’t be considered a virtue, especially not in academia. The purpose of a college education is to educate students about an intellectual field of knowledge, not to force them to dress or think in a certain way.

According to the College of Business standards, “The administration, faculty, staff, and students of the College of Business at Illinois State University are committed to the principles of professional behavior and integrity. As a community of scholars and business professionals, we strive to embody the characteristics of responsibility, honesty, respect, fairness, and trust in our professional and personal lives.” But the professional standards of higher education are very different from the professional standards of corporate America, where there is no freedom and individual liberty. Forcing students to wear certain fashions is the ultimate form of disrespect. Ironically, in seeking to suppress sneakers and shorts, these business faculty at Illinois State University are violating the professional standards of academia.