Commentary: Students Suspended For Tinker-ing With Dress Code

It’s a well-known fact that students and dress codes are about as compatible as a tub of hot water and a plugged-in hair dryer.  Young people have been pushing the envelope long before Tinker v. Des Moines determined in 1969 that they could express themselves through dress.  The latest development in this age-old struggle comes from Will Rogers High School in Tulsa where 70 students were suspended for protesting a rule telling them to, of all things, tuck in their shirts.

Apparently a kid wore a long shirt to school one day and hid a gun underneath; now the students are forced to display some involuntary neatness.  The knee-jerk policy is laughable in that it does absolutely nothing to prevent anyone with a firearm and a reason from bringing one to class.  But what is even more laughable is that the issue was that important to the students that so many got themselves suspended over it.

What happened to protesting the war with black armbands?  Is the “freedom” to dress badly what motivates today’s youth to unite against oppression?  Not that challenging unfair or poorly written policies is a bad thing.  In Albany, NY, a group of students and parents successfully lobbied the postponement of a new dress code for the Shenendowha Central School District. They cited the proposal banning “inappropriate clothing” as too vague and subjective, which could suppress student expression.

It is completely understandable for students to be disgruntled; they are very good at that.  But sometimes you have to pick your battles and this wasn’t one of those times.  Granted, they were suspended for “encouraging other students to violate school rules or regulations” and not for having untucked shirts.  But six months from now fashion may dictate that tucked is “in.” There had to be something else, anything else, for these kids to protest.   The Tulsa School District dress code itself has plenty of other protest-worthy restrictions such as needing a prescription to wear a hat on school grounds or not being allowed to wear a sports jersey to class.

Still, it is impressive that 70 students on a high school campus could find a unifying cause.  The Tinkers would be proud.  If that many were willing to miss out on school over this shirt issue, imagine what could happen if administrators tell them to pull their pants up.