Georgia college bans cross-dressing on campus

[Legend]

An all-male college in Atlanta, Ga. has banned the wearing of women’s clothes, make-up, high heels and purses as part of a new crackdown on what the institution calls “inappropriate attire.”

The Appropriate Attire Policy further prohibits the wearing of hats in buildings, pajamas in public, sagging pants, do-rags, sunglasses in class and walking barefoot on campus.

However, it is the ban on cross-dressing that has brought national attention to the small, historically African-American Morehouse College. Dr. William Bynum, vice president of Student Services, said in a forum with Morehouse Safe Space, the campus’ gay organization, that “we are talking about five students who are living a gay lifestyle that is leading them to dress in a way we do not expect in Morehouse men.”

Singling out individuals who have inspired the policy creates unnecessary and negative public attention for students who are just as deserving of a positive college experience as others, while limiting their freedom of expression and individuality.

Bynum also said the policy comes from the vision of the college president. Chronic dress code violators will be required to leave class in order to change and could ultimately be expelled from the school.

Rather than denying an individual the right to a college degree based on what they choose to wear, colleges should be placing disciplinary focus on academic integrity and responsibility.

Promoting leadership based upon one set way of dressing and acting only discourages diversity rather than promoting leadership representative of the many different lifestyles and cultures within a campus community.

Most Morehouse students support the policy. Some say it ensures a sense of respect for the administration and the kind of legacy that Morehouse is trying to uphold. It seems these students are undeserving of this same kind of respect.

Rather than focusing on academic performance, Morehouse administrators have chosen to disrespect their students’ choices and right to a challenging education by placing emphasis regarding their colleges’ standards on apparel rather than academic quality.

http://www.utulsa.edu/collegian/arti...p?article=4293

That only thing they are doing is feeding into that stereotype that african americans are homophobic.

[Silcc69]

Doesn't seems like an issue to me.

[Willie Escalade]

I don't care either; I'll stick with UCLA.

[Merkurie]

"That only thing they are doing is feeding into that stereotype that african americans are homophobic"

Its no stereotype.

[kmod]

it's a private school, they can do whatever they want.
Why would a TV want to attend a school with those rules anyways? Oh wait, ALL MALE school, that would explain it.

[gotchagood]

I agree. It's a school for guys, if certain individuals want to come in wearing high heels, lipstick and perfume, then they need to attend a school for girls. Otherwise there will be guys walking around with raging woody's. The point of segregated schooling is for the individuals to concentrate on studies, not thinking about sex, or what each other looks like under all those clothes.


Have a great day

[yodajazz]

I agree. It's a school for guys, if certain individuals want to come in wearing high heels, lipstick and perfume, then they need to attend a school for girls. Otherwise there will be guys walking around with raging woody's. The point of segregated schooling is for the individuals to concentrate on studies, not thinking about sex, or what each other looks like under all those clothes.


Have a great day

I agree. If a male wants to express feminine, he should think about a school that is coed. It's a private school and has the right to market a certain image. I think they also have in mind, the greater population there, who are used to very casual dress, whereas their image in the old days was suits and ties. Thus the ban on pajamas at the dining halls, and the many other things on the list. Youth will always want more freedom. But they are often not respectful of business realities.

No one in this thread has mentioned Morehouse's most famous graduate, Martin Luther King Jr.