College clothing discrimination

[ShockQueen]

I was watching the news this morning when they talked about Morehouse College, which is an all-male african-american college, and the new clothing restrictions they put in place this month:

http://thedailyvoice.com/voice/2009/10/new-dress-code-for-a-famous-bl-002336.php

This is the part that caught my attention:

9. No wearing of clothing associated with women's garb (dresses, tops, tunics, purses, pumps, etc.) on the Morehouse campus or at College-sponsored events.

Are you kidding me? They actually INCLUDED this one? I guess some colleges are just getting very very narrow-minded. Just my $.02.

[Bubba136]

If Morehouse college is a "private" institution and accepts no federal funds, they are able to establish policies that might be thought of as "discriminatory." Or, at least that is the way it was about 20 years ago. Private institutions layout their thoughts, curriculum and other policies before prospective attendees and, when these prospective attendees enroll, they agree to abide by the policies without recourse. Should they not agree with the policies, they should choose another school that is more in line with their individual philosophy. That is the reason religious institutions can get away with conducting religious courses without government interference.

[Histiletto]

The 9th code also offense me. This prohibition of attiring accentuates the double standard society has for women and men. Women are able to choose from almost a countless array of various and assorted clothing items in different colors, textures, and styles; some of which are men's wear. Men, on the other hand, have considerably less clothing items to choose from and if men even think of wearing items of a feminine nature, the back lash of society degrades them to a status lower than the proverbial dirt. Some how, this social attitude has to be corrected, because men are also wanting more of an assortment to choose from. Many of the items women have dominated have been worn at points in history by men with social acceptance. A lot of the social ideals that have been recently conceived for people to strive for are false idols and really don't show the true nature of men or women. People have their own set of desires and traits that often cross the social concept of the gender line. When these inaccuracies are corrected, the right to choose for one's own self will be returned to its origin and people will be able to experience equality and acceptance for who they are.

[Bubba136]

Some how, this social attitude has to be corrected,

Off with their heads !

[Dr. Shoe]

Hang on. At this establishment there are no female students so therefore no one is being discriminated against. Unless you count females who are barred.

[Bubba136]

Hang on.

At this establishment there are no female students so therefore no one is being discriminated against. Unless you count females who are barred.

Female students are "barred" against attending all male schools. Likewise for the guys, they are barred from attending all female schools. Doesn't sound like discrimination to me.

Single sex educational institutions are making a comeback here in this country. Some highly discriminatory schools are taking a long look at reestablishing single sex classes. It appears that, according to some studies educators have conducted, girls tend to learn more quickly and better when they're studying without males in their class. Same is true for the guys. God only knows the minds that responsible for the poor educational system in this country have to do something. We all can't go on welfare (the dole) and expect the two remaining people that are working to pay the bill.

[kneehighs]

I was watching the news this morning when they talked about Morehouse College, which is an all-male african-american college, and the new clothing restrictions they put in place this month:

http://thedailyvoice.com/voice/2009/10/new-dress-code-for-a-famous-bl-002336.php

This is the part that caught my attention:

9. No wearing of clothing associated with women's garb (dresses, tops, tunics, purses, pumps, etc.) on the Morehouse campus or at College-sponsored events.

Are you kidding me? They actually INCLUDED this one? I guess some colleges are just getting very very narrow-minded. Just my $.02.

I think to attempt to enforce that policy against the incumbent student population is akin to playing a game and changing the rules in the middle of the game. It's not fair.

While it's more tolerable to enforce that policy with new, incoming students, I still disagree with it and wonder if there aren't Supreme Court rulings that would ultimately render this college statute unenforceable and therefore a poor investment of current energy and resources because of it's low ROI.

It wouldn't surprise me if it's just a cheap desperate publicity ploy. It's all over the media (national TV). Enough to generate some new applications and potential new revenue, since college application time is coming up. Lame.

[Dr. Shoe]

According to UK law, discrimination only exists if one party is denied the rights of another party in the same situation. Therefore, co-ed schools cannot enforce gender specific dress codes but single sex schools can. Making a dress code more strict is fraught with problems in that there are going to be students part way through their studies. A better way would be to gradually phase it in by first saying that freshmen have to comply then roll it out year by year to the whole school.

[Bubba136]

Just curious. In the UK, is there no distinction between private and public institutions? And, does the discrimination law apply across the board...to both private and public school? The case here, as far as I know and unless it has been changed in the past 10 years, private schools that are not accepting federal funds are free to establish their individual ground rules without interference from government at any level. Therefore, if you choose to attend a privately funded Christian school, with a curriculum that is strongly Bible based, you have your choice to attend and comply with the policies or else enroll in some other school that more closely matches your individual philosophy. I would assume that the policy against cross gender dressing, since it is the policy of a privately funded educational institution, would apply. Correct me where I'm going wrong (If I am).

[Dr. Shoe]

Right, terminology time: In the UK, what we call "Public School" Americans would call "Private School". What Americans call "Public School" we call State Funded Schools or State Schools for short. Sometimes they will be called Grant Maintained Schools. However, the only difference is how they are funded. They still have to comply with the same set of laws concerning attendance of pupils (Am=Students), adherence to statutory laws, maitaining the National Curriculum and take a note of the guidlines of OFSTED, the schools reglatory body. To answer the question, it doesn't matter if the institution is privately owned or not, they still have to comply with the laws of the land and one of those laws is the Gender Equality Act. In the case of dress code, many (if not all) Public Schools (Am= Private Schools) have a uniform as do many state schools. In a Public School, the uniform is very strict and will often include a hat, typically boaters or caps and the entire uniform would have to be purchased from a specialist retailer. In a state school they may specify a sweatshirt with the school's emblem with trousers of a certain colour but as long as the colour complies the trousers can be of almost any style.

[pauls_boat]

I was watching the news this morning when they talked about Morehouse College, which is an all-male african-american college, and the new clothing restrictions they put in place this month:

http://thedailyvoice.com/voice/2009/10/new-dress-code-for-a-famous-bl-002336.php

This is the part that caught my attention:

9. No wearing of clothing associated with women's garb (dresses, tops, tunics, purses, pumps, etc.) on the Morehouse campus or at College-sponsored events.

Are you kidding me? They actually INCLUDED this one? I guess some colleges are just getting very very narrow-minded. Just my $.02.

i donot belive this is discrimination as they do not allow females to wear anything difrent than the males, the fact no females attend the school is not a valid point untill females attend the school and are allowed to wear anything difrent than the males then no law's have been broken and the school can do as it likes even if we dont think it is right.

[roniheels]

I went to a very conservative Christian college in the early 70's, the disco era. On this campus, there was no drinking, smoking, or even dancing! But people all dressed differently from jeans to t-shirtsand sneakers to bright colored outfits and high heels worn by both men and women. I believe the only thing in the student handbook that mentioned "dress code" was that clothes were to be non-provocative and tasteful. And as far as I remember, that was never clearly defined. But to my knowledge, no one was ever sent home or back to the dorm because of what he or she was wearing.