The Morehouse College "Appropriate Attire Policy", instituted more than a year ago, stirred up quite the controversy around the time of its inception. A recent article over at queerty profiled one of the students at the center of the issue; Diamond Martin Poulin.
Here is the Appropriate Attire Policy:
"It is our expectation that students who select Morehouse do so because of the College's outstanding legacy of producing leaders. On the campus and at College-sponsored events and activities, students at Morehouse College will be expected to dress neatly and appropriately at all times.
Students who choose not to abide by this policy will be denied admission into class and various functions and services of the College if their manner of attire is inappropriate. Examples of inappropriate attire and/or appearance include but are not limited to:
1. No caps, do-rags and/or hoods in classrooms, the cafeteria, or other indoor venues. This policy item does not apply to headgear considered as a part of religious or cultural dress.
2. Sun glasses or "shades" are not to be work in class or at formal programs, unless medical documentation is provided to support use.
3. Decorative orthodontic appliances (e.g. "grillz") be they permanent or removable, shall not be worn on the campus or at College-sponsored events.
4. Jeans at major programs such as, Opening Convocation, Commencement, Founder's Day or other programs dictating professional, business casual attire, semi-formal or formal attire.
5. Clothing with derogatory, offense and/or lewd messages either in words or pictures.
6. Top and bottom coverings should be work at all times. No bare feet in public venues.
7. No sagging--the wearing of one's pants or shorts low enough to reveal undergarments or secondary layers of clothing.
8. Pajamas, shall not be worn while in public or in common areas of the College.
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.
10. Additional dress regulations may be imposed upon students participating in certain extracurricular activities that are sponsored or organized by the College (e.g. athletic teams, the band, Glee Club, etc).
11. The college reserves the right to modify this policy as deemed appropriate.
*All administrative, faculty, students and support staff members are asked to assist in enforcing this policy and may report disregard or violations to the Office of Student Conduct."
I'm not quite sure what sparked queerty to drum up this (kind of) old news story but it's interesting none-the-less. Defenders of the dress code have cited that Morehouse is a private college, that the dress code also bans do-rags and sagging pants and that it is an all-male school; "the Plastics" should have known better. It is true that Morehouse is a private school and therefore has more liberal control over their policies (However conservative they may be). Morehouse College, however, is the alma mater of some of the most progressive activists in American history. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. being, arguably, the most renowned. This was a school that valued "change" and encouraged equality. It's sad to see Morehouse reneging on its commitment to equality.
While the policy bans do-rags and sagging, many students have reported that these sections of the policy go unenforced. Morehouse makes no attempt to hide that this policy (at least no, 9) was aimed directly at a specific group of LGBTQ students. It would have been impossible for Morehouse to create a policy which only banned "women's garb" and they knew that. It looks like they added more restrictions (which they did not intend on enforcing) to avoid claims of homophobia. Well, they've failed.
Those who believe these students brought this upon themselves by choosing to attend Morehouse should have a heart. These are young people who may have been cast aside their entire lives. Shame on them for choosing a school they believed would embrace their individuality, as it has done in the past. Typical blame the victim scapegoating. These students are not the problem. The backwards thinking, progression halting administration is the problem. They should look at what their predecessors stood for and rethink this policy. "Morehouse Men" should be more about dignity and respect than closed-mindedness.
