I wonder if

everyone on the board of education adhered to these

guidelines when they were students in high school? I

wonder if any of them had the brashness to wear

bell-bottoms, or any other past styles that could have

easily concealed a weapon? Kids are not wearing baggy

clothes or holey-jeans to hide weapons; just as former

generations had their ideas of style, this is the style

characteristic of Generation X.

The board

or other baby-boomers may not agree that this new style

is attractive, but I'm sure their parents probably did

not particularly care for their styles either. A great

American leader once said, "I may disagree with what

you have to say, but I shall defend, to the death, your

right to say it." The same should be said in regard

to dress code: the board may not agree baggy clothes look

proper, but they should defend their students' right to

free fashion expression so long as not to disturb the

learning process.

Baggy

clothes, un-tucked shirts, or beltless pants are not

disturbing this process. If anything, the students feel

more comfortable in these clothes, and thus, are able to

learn better. Further, implementing these rules is a

double-edged sword. Not only would the students be

disturbed by a dress pattern foreign to them, teachers

would lose valuable instruction time. Teachers searching

for cheat sheets, calling role, and checking for bubble

gum waste enough time. These teachers went to school so

they could teach, and it should not be in their

curriculum to make sure each student knows how to dress

like the mannequin in the Gap.

Two

students in Columbine, Colo., did a very horrendous

crime. Another student followed suit in Georgia and one

in Canada. So, because of a grossly small minority, we

are going to succumb to fear? This is just what all of

those psychos wanted; this is letting the losers win. A

dress code in response to their actions is not justice

for the relatively good behavior of our students. Like

most anyone, I can think of many successful, law-abiding

people who did not dress to the proposed code. From

actors, accountants, musical artists, athletes, actors,

and many more, untucked shirts did not lead to lives of

killing sprees. Safety cannot be equated with the clothes

we wear, for clothes are merely expressions of ourselves.

Let's face

it: If a student really wants to get a gun to school, he

is going to get there if he/she is wearing baggy or tight

jeans. Nothing gets in the way of determination. Now, if

you really want to stop that kid from blowing up the

school, a metal detector is going to hinder him a lot

more than him wearing a belt on his pants.

That is not

to say I support metal detectors, just that is more

realistic than this code. The bad kids are going to

red-flag themselves and get thrown out of the system long

before a dress code eliminates their danger. If not,

overprotection by facing teens to conform to a standard

way of dressing is only going to toughen their transition

into the codeless real world.

Or maybe

the board should just issue orange fatigues, and at 9

a.m. every school day, just lock the students' wrists and

ankles to their desks until the end of the day? In-school

suspension could be changed to "The Hole,"

where kids are held without food and water. And they

could just keep the cafeteria setup, for they have been

serving prison food in schools since the beginning of

time, I think.

Wait, maybe

that is the reason our schools are unsafe? That's it! Let

Mr. J. Crew dress all the kids alike, but until the

Atlanta Bread Co. is hired to cater school lunch, our

schools will never be safe! I hope I have made my point.

Brent

Johnson

Former Sandy Creek and current Georgia Tech student

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