Morehouse President to Freshmen: 'Look the Part. Act the Part.'
No Sagging Jeans on This Watch
Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, News Feature, Tracie Powell, Posted: Sep 17, 2007
Editor's note: The issue of dress codes by itself is sure to engender controversy, if not on the campus, at least off. As well-intentioned as the policy itself may be, there are students who will ask why a president isn't speaking forcefully on other topics, like the U.S. military occupation of other countries.
When 20-year-old Marcus Traylor stepped onto campus last month on the first day of the fall semester, he was struck by something he had never seen before on the Morehouse College campus: a group of 100 or more freshmen walking to class wearing stylishly new maroon sports jackets, complete with Morehouse insignia.
During his first two years, it wasn’t uncommon for Traylor to see fellow students walking across campus wearing pajamas and flip-flops to class.
That won’t happen under the college’s new administration, and Traylor says that’s OK with him.
“I saw the new sports jackets and wanted one for myself. They are very professional looking, very smooth,” Traylor says. He adds that he’ll have to pay for his own jacket, while every member of this year’s freshmen class was given one by the university. Next year, the cost of the jackets for incoming freshmen will be included in new student orientation fees.
Morehouse could soon join a growing number of university campuses that have instituted dress codes. A handful of public and private campuses, where students once exercised the freedom to dress as they please, have adopted stricter codes of conduct that prohibit sagging jeans, flip-flops and even the wearing of baseball caps inside buildings.
While other college campuses such as Paul Quinn College in Dallas and the business school at Illinois State University recently began regulating student attire this fall, Elise Durham, media relations manager at Morehouse College, points out that the school hasn’t officially changed its policy, but has set forth a set of expectations for students.
Still, candidates running for Morehouse student government positions are debating the issue, and the school’s new president is also talking about it.
Morehouse’s new president, Dr. Robert Michael Franklin Jr., wants to make being smart cool again and put morality at the forefront of the college’s mission. The jackets are the first step in that direction, according to officials. It’s also part of the school’s new, stricter dress and conduct expectations.
In two separate speeches to incoming freshmen as well as returning upper-classmen, Franklin emphasized a laundry list of unacceptable behaviors and conduct, which included cursing as well as the kinds of clothing some students wear.
“We are Morehouse, and we will not tolerate sagging pants that gravitate far below your waistline. No do-rags; no baseball caps inside buildings,” Franklin said in his first public address to students last month. “No pajamas in the classroom. You are men of Morehouse. You are better than that. I will be watching and expecting class from you.”
“Look the part. Act the part. Talk the talk and walk the walk,” Franklin emphasized to students who gathered inside Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel to hear his speeches.
Traylor doesn’t mind Franklin’s charge to the Morehouse student body. “They’re getting stricter on the dress code, and that’s fine. It’s a show of pride. I think it’s a good move, a move in the right direction.”
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User Comments
De'Andrea Greenfield on Oct 03, 2007 at 06:24:52 said:
I feel that Morehouse is making a good decision...PULL THOSE PANTS UP!!!!
jessica lewis on Sep 25, 2007 at 14:08:37 said:
I think it should be an option. I see nothing wrong with looking professional. I don't think you should be allowed to wear pajamas to class anyway.
Judy Ragsdale on Sep 24, 2007 at 07:05:00 said:
I think that all university and school should inforce this policy because the sag is no a good look on the children of our future. I am proud of the student of Morehouse.
Bernadette on Sep 23, 2007 at 12:54:31 said:
I think the new dress code and list of unacceptable behaviors is a step in the right direction. A lot of people have become rich at the expense of young blacks, but our most prestigious colleges and universities must stand tall and stay firm. What a tragedy it would be to pay thousands of dollars to attend college, and loose your self respect and dignity in the process.
Brenda Stewart on Sep 23, 2007 at 10:57:10 said:
Sept 23, 2007
Dear Dr. Franklin, I am a parent of a 7th grader who is looking forward to attending Morehouse because of its legacy. When I explained to my son, that Dr. King had attended this school he was very excited.
Currently, my son attends Charles A. Tindley
Accelerated Charter School in Indianapolis,Indiana. The wearing of uniforms are part of the learning process.
He loves wearing the uniform colors and having the strict dress code. He is very focused on his learning, just like all the other students. My son said to me last week,
mom have you notice, that the males are not wearing braids. Baggy pants are not allowed at the school which is about 98 percent Black. Foul language, put downs, disrespect to self and others is prohibited.
Morality, compassion, and the need for social change is the concept that is being taught. At Charles A. Tindley Accelerated Charter School, the message is loud and clear. It is ok to be young black and gifted. Thank you very much, for your precious time and your support for uplifting young Black men.
The eyes of the future are looking back at us and they are praying for us to see beyond our own time.
-Terry Tempest Williams
Peace & Blessings
Sincerely,
Brenda Stewart
Mother & Advocate for
Black Boys
Courtney on Sep 23, 2007 at 08:14:22 said:
I like the idea of student wearing proper attire to school. Black kids these days, they all look like idiotic uneducated zombies, who\'s following the other fools dressed the same way. There are not taking a leadership position. They are just followers. There\'s a criminal element in the way they dress, and they think that this is cool. The baggy pants looks ridicules. It is not cool. We have more since that that.
Remember Lou Rawls. \"A mind is a terrible thing to waste\".
Doris Lewis on Sep 21, 2007 at 19:59:13 said:
I think all universities and colleges should support and follow in your footsteps for the leaders of tomorrow's future. I work at a college and it's ridiculous how our students are allowed to look like bombs on the streets when we are educating them to become doctors, lawyers,educators and orher professionals for our future generations. Thank you for taking a step in the right direction. You have my full support.
Lisa on Sep 21, 2007 at 13:09:45 said:
My son is a freshman at Morehouse. I thought that giving a jacket to each freshman was a great idea! I'm all for regulating attire, as long as they don't move too far in the other direction, and require uniforms. The young men still need to be able to wear clothing specific to their generation.
Alphonso Whitfield on Sep 19, 2007 at 07:24:22 said:
For me its ironic that I would support the move by Dr. Franklin as during my matriculation, Morehouse'77, we were in many ways the genesis of the many challenges to dress code over time. Yet as with all things over time the pendelum swings back and forth as the boundaries of normative behavior are stretched to a point of being unaccpetable. That said Dr. Franklin is doing the right thing!!!
Mark Sanders II on Sep 18, 2007 at 16:25:22 said:
I'm jealous!!!!! (Morehouse class of 1996)
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