uniforms

Public school dress codes are often among the most controversial issues on the minds of students. Students want to ensure that their right to expression through apparl is protected from all attempts to forced conformity.

Some parents want the schools to be a fully operational limb of their child-raising authority while other parents want to be sure that their children are raised according to their ideals and principles alone, without the interloping rules of the school system.

Then, there are schools with principals and teachers who have problems within their schools and they always have to be attempting to come up with some satisfactory new policy for dealing with them.

It is most beneficial to all sides if students are not told what to wear, but are given some relatively loose guidelines on what not to wear.

It would be unreasonable to have no dress code at all.

Appearances that are distracting, offensive or obscene could quickly become common. Discriminatory, incendiary or overly revealing apparel would be detrimental to the learning processes.

Without any dress code, students would be allowed to wear clothing to school that would be unacceptable to their part-time, afterschool empoyers in the community. This would send a poor message to students who are developing a knowlede of how things work after the school years are over.

None of this, however, should be taken as a sign that uniform dress codes should be implemented. At public schools there is an incredibly wide variety of people, cultures and aspirations. Uniform dress codes-such as requiring students to wear the same colors or same kind of clothing-would not e beneficial to all students. There is a need for some leeway for students to decide exactly how they should dress.

If high school students wereto be told exactly what to wear for four years, and then thrown into working for a living or attending college, they might not be well prepared for the decisions they might not be well prepared for the decisions they would have to make.

If all sides would look at this issue with open minds and a willingness to cooperate, then they would see that a loose dress code in the best way.

Our national history is filled with compromise and this is another case where it is necessary. All of the opposing sides pulling in their own directions for their own reasons is not helpful to anyone.

Students need to realize that a democracy guarantees them the rights of free speech, the right to represent themselve in government and even the right to freedom of expression. But it also means that they cannot impede on andybody else's rights to speech, expression or education.'

Parents and teachers need to find a balance between each other's authority, but they also need to work together on all issues, especially in finding a fair and adequate dress code.

This is an important issue that is pertinent to the future of our communities and our country. It is not at all a simple issue but is is not insurmountably difficult. Working together, we can find a most beneficial and satisfactory dress code.
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Ryan Cofrancesco is a senior at Wilby High School in Waterbury. He is an active member of the YMCA Youth and Government Program on the local, state and national levels.

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