Should Students Wear Controversial Clothing To School?

505 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: School uniforms against opinion

In America, you have the right to free expression which is why it's known as the home of the free. But how far does that freedom go? Many students get in lots of trouble because they are freely expressing themselves through their clothes. Someone should not be censored because of their beliefs. The first step in human equality is people not being frowned upon in an oppressive way because of their beliefs. Students should be able to wear controversial clothing to school because they have the right to free expression, the school can’t stop you from wearing something just because they disapprove of the message, and that the schools cannot ban you from wearing something unless it causes a substantial disruption.
Students should be able to wear controversial clothing to school because people often express themselves in what they wear. stopping someone from expressing their ideas freely is a violation of their rights as an American citizen. That is an amendment number 1 in the bill of rights.
Another reason why students should be allowed is that teachers can be biased.RI ACLU says “there is no general rule, schools cannot bar you from wearing clothing simply because they disapprove of the message that the clothing conveys”. No one person or power should be able to decide a universal factor. Many people have many different views about …show more content…

ACLU says”A “substantial disruption” occurs when school administrators or teachers are unable to proceed with regular school activities due to the interference caused by a student’s clothing. Rumors, gossip, or excitement amongst students does not count as a “substantial disruption”.As i stated earlier schools cannot bar you from wearing clothes because they disapprove of they message and part of that is teachers assuming a certain article of clothing is disruptive. Schools cannot prevent you from wearing something until it causes a

Show More
Related

  • School Dress Codes v. The First Amendment

    1687 Words  | 4 Pages

    America was founded on popular sovereignty and individual freedoms. What do Americans do when the freedoms given to them from birth are restricted or taken away from them? They fight! Throughout time the government has attempted to take away our civil liberties because they viewed them to be for the greater good. One huge government failure was the attempted prohibition of alcohol. It is well known that alcohol can be very dangerous and it should be restricted. However, the government went too far when it tried to take it away completely and just like their rebellious founders the American population just found ways around the law. Similarily, Carroll High School and other schools throughout the nation are severely restricting the students’ rights to express themselves through their visual appearance. The administration, relying on the crutch of limiting distractions and violence, is taking the dress code over the line and is infringing on our right of expression regardless of the lack of results that they are witnessing.

    Read More

  • School Dress Code Research Paper

    738 Words  | 2 Pages

    Issues involving the apparel enforcements, including sexism, repressed self- identity, and punishment issues will be discussed within this paper. Literature Review The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the creation of laws offensive to religious groups and ensures their ability to freely practice, grants the freedom of speech, comply the freedom of the press, and allows the right to assemble peacefully. Adopted on December 15, 1791, it has served the United States of America for over one hundred years. Freedom of expression is a controversial topic when applied to the school dress code.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On School Uniforms

    569 Words  | 2 Pages

    Society has taught people that they should be themselves and express their individuality. There are many people out there who think everyone should act and be the same because people get judged if they act or dress differently. Everyone is their own person and no one should have to conform to everyone else in society. The debate over whether or not uniforms should be required has been going on for years. Many schools have decided it is best to have uniforms when, in all honesty, uniforms make no difference in academic success or behavior of students. Just because someone wears a uniform does not make them any smarter of behave in a better manner. School uniforms should not be required, not only because they do not let students express themselves, but also they cost families more money and do not affect what goes on at school.

    Read More

  • Censorship In School Dress Code

    897 Words  | 2 Pages

    Censorship even extends to school dress codes. A school dress code is a set of rules about what clothing may or may not be worn in schools. As previously mentioned, a set of criteria are used to determine whether or not student expression should be censored in schools. For censorship involving dress codes, there are two: the “Tinker disruption standard” and the “forum issue,” which determine if student expression disrupts the school day and by who it is regulated, respectively (Emert). One case involving censorship of the school dress code was of a boy who violated his school’s dress code (Nguyen). Zachary Guiles, a thirteen year old boy, had to cover up his shirt denigrating former President George W. Bush, which violated his First Amendment rights (Nguyen). The shirt showed President Bush’s head on a chicken with derogatory names. It had images of oil rigs and lines of cocaine (Nguyen). A student, who had opposite views as Guiles, notified the administration of the shirt (Nguyen). Guiles was sent home on May 13, 2004, when he didn’t cover up the shirt after being asked to. The next day, Guiles’ wore the shirt, which was covered with tape and the word ‘censored’ was written on the tape (Nguyen). The school which Guiles attended, Williamstown Middle High School in Vermont, said that the shirt violated the dress code. Guiles’ parents felt that their son’s “rights to engage in political speech” were violated, and they sued the school (Nguyen). Guiles did not win the lawsuit in December 2004, when the US District Court for Vermont ruled in favor of the school, saying the images were “’plainly offensive and inappropriate’” (Nguyen). Guiles appealed, and the Second Circuit court ruled that the images were not offensive an...

    Read More

  • School Uniforms In Schools

    954 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... Bare midriffs, or bare backs Tights, leggings, bike shorts, swim suits or pajamas as outerwear Visible piercings, Dog collars, tongue rings studs, wallet chains, large hair clips, or chains that connect from one part of the body to another. So to avoid this in my opinion I think all students should wear the uniform because it help prevent gangs from forming on campus , Encourage discipline , help students resist peer pressure to buy trendy clothes , help identify intruders in the school , diminish economic and social barriers between students and increase a sense of belonging and school pride and Improve attendance. So people should come together to make school a more focused on school and work place and not letting students get distracted by other things such as what they’ll wear that day or what will they say if I wear this by making school uniforms mandatory.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Student Dress Code Censorship

    596 Words  | 2 Pages

    School dress code is controversial, sometimes being the cause of inner-school violence. The censorship of this raises issues when students complain that their personal rights to express themselves after schools limit what they can or cannot wear. School dress code are the guide lines that schools set that define what is acceptable to wear to school. An example of student dress code censorship was the case involving a thirteen year-old student in Williamstown displaying his political opinion about former President Bush (Nguyen). Because the shirt contained drug references and words calling the president a "crook", an "AWOL, draft dodger" and a "lying drunk driver," he was told to go home after refusing to take it off (Nguyen). This case went to two different courts, a US District Court, and the Second Circuit Court. The US District Court agreed with the school's opinion because they believed the images on Guille's shirt were not appropriate for a school atmosphere (Nguyen). Meanwhile, the Second Circuit Court ruled that the school should not have censored the shirt because even thou...

    Read More

  • Freedom Of Expression

    755 Words  | 2 Pages

    All people in the United States are guaranteed this right by the Constitution. Students, however, do not have this right to the same extent as adults. This is because public schools are required to protect all students at the school. The major aspects of this right are speech and dress. Both the right to speech and dress are not absolute in public high schools. According to the American Civil Liberties Union: "You (students) have a right to express your opinions as long as you do so in a way that doesn't 'materially and substantially' dirsupt classes or other school activities. If you hold a protest on the school steps and block the entrance to the building, school officials can stop you. They can probably also stop you from using language they think is 'vulgar or indecent'("Ask Sybil Libert" ACLU 1998). Public schools can also restrict student dress. In 1987 in Harper v. Edgewood Board of Education the court upheld "a dress regulation that required students to 'dress in conformity wit hthe accepted standards of the community'"(Whalen 72). This means that schools can restrict clothing with vulgarities and such, but they cannot restrict religious clothing: "School officials must accomodate student's religious beliefs by permitting the wearing of religious clothing when such clothing must be worn during the school day as a part of the student's religious practice"(Whalen 78).

    Read More

  • School Uniform

    564 Words  | 2 Pages

    Kids use clothes to express the way they feel and making them wear a uniform is taking that away. School uniforms have been around for a long time. Most schools try to enforce the need of uniforms thinking it will help keep their students safer and better educated. Students shouldn’t have to wear uniforms for these three main reasons: some kids use clothes to express themselves and the uniform would take that away from them, uniforms cost a lot of money and some parents can’t afford it for their kids, doesn't really help with education.

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Dress Code Policy In Schools

    1290 Words  | 3 Pages

    But, school is not the place to show student’s interests and likes, school is strictly for learning. If a student wants to wear a shirt that shows his/her’s religion, political view, or profanity, he or she can wear the clothing outside of school. Also a benefit to dress code in schools allows students to “expressive their individuality through their personality and academic achievements, not through clothing” (School Uniform). Jill Hamilton writes a book on the pros and cons of a dress code policy. She correctly states how school should be a business related environment. She states “Students should feel comfortable enough with themselves to portray their personality through themselves, not through their clothing. Their clothing should represent business attire, as they might have in the real world someday” (Hamilton, page 72). Hamilton writes her opinion on this in a nice manner, explaining that a dress code policy would ensure better

    Read More

  • Schools Should Not Have Uniforms

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    “They shouldn't because they should be able to express themselves and choose what to wear. Also, they should be able to wear what they want and be free to wear what they want. They should also be able to share their personalities with their classmates and family members. ” (should kids). Some students can’t express themselves with art or music so, there way is through clothing like: buttons, band t-shirts, etc. In private schools it would be easier to enforce since there parents are paying extra for a better education. Public schools on the other hand would be a lot harder to enforce especially because some students don’t like school. Which if uniforms were enforced would make students hate school even more.

    Read More

  • A Violation of Rights-School Uniforms

    928 Words  | 2 Pages

    I believe all people have the right to express themselves. However, with rights come responsibility, a concept most people ignore. Having a "right" is to be free to express one's self. Consequentially, having a "responsibility" is doing it constructively, in such a way as to not violate policies, laws, and others' rights. There is a definite difference between a dress code and a school uniform. I support enforcing a school dress code, but is implementing a school uniform necessary? No matter how students dress, they will still pass judgments on their peers, uniforms do not necessarily save money, and children are forced to conform to the same standards. While in school, teachers have a responsibility to teach and students have the responsibility to learn. Both have the right to exist in their environment without harassment and the right to express their individuality. Some people have found some expressions crude, obnoxious, and distracting. To combat the problem, the idea of mandating school uniforms was introduced. This notion of making everyone appear "uniformed" in order to cut down on violence and negativity in school, is absolutely mislaid.

    Read More

  • No School Uniforms

    1041 Words  | 3 Pages

    School Uniforms are in a way very unique and different, but what is really the reason that students should have to wear them? The United States is supposed to be a country of freedom and individuality. Each and every person in the world is different, and by making people dress the same they cannot express themselves fairly the way that they would like to. It is sensible for schools to be able to make dress codes, but telling students they have to all dress the same is absolutely ridiculous. Having school uniforms is not necessary, and there are many reasons to prove why schools should not make their students wear uniforms.

    Read More

  • The Argument Against Uniforms in Schools

    794 Words  | 2 Pages

    Kids and teens have the right to pick out what they wear, sure it may take a bit longer, but in the long run it is worth it. Everyone has the right to express themselves freely and by the way they look. It can tell what kind of person they are. Think about it, you go into a school that has uniforms you see everyone wearing the same stuff who is who? What kind of personality could they have, maybe one like being a brick in the wall. Walk into a school without uniforms and you can instantly tell anyone’s personality by what they wear, so they express their emotions through their clothing.

    Read More

  • Argument Against School Uniforms Essay

    2235 Words  | 5 Pages

    First of all, these school uniforms should be implemented into the rest of these 17 schools, because it would diminish economic and social barriers between students. However, freedom of expression does consist of the rights to freedom of speech, assembly, and to petition the government, but the first amendment does not grant people the right to act any way they want without actions taken. Numerous schools have a straightforward dress code policy enforced. If these policies are violated, then the students could face consequences for their actions.

    Read More

  • Should Students Be Allowed To Wear School Uniforms

    313 Words  | 1 Pages

    The second reason is students cannot express themselves.When you have to wear uniforms your freedom of expression is taken away. Clothing is an important means to express yourself. The First Amendment of the US Constitution says everyone has the right to express themselves. Since choice of clothing is a way of expressing yourself, school uniforms would ignore a student’s right to the First Amendment(Pros and Cons of School Uniforms).

    Read More

More about Should Students Wear Controversial Clothing To School?

Open Document