The Waiting Room

The NBA has mandated a dress code for the players. The commissioner wants the players to wear professional attire when they attend speaking engagements, interviews, etc... The purpose is to curb the thug culture that seems to engulf the sport. Many believe that the commissioner has no business legislating player dress.

We have a dress code for the faculty at my college. We have strict rules on what professors can wear. But I am not so sure if it is necessary. Hopefully at this stage in our lives, we should know what is acceptable in the business world. And for the most part, the faculty does a good job. But we do not have a dress code for the students. And I think it is totally necessary. I am not advocating school uniforms or anything that radical; it is college after all. And I fully admit that when I was in college, I went through a new wave/punker stage. (It was the 80's, enough said.)

I am not suggesting that student's give up their individuality. I am also not suggesting that students should substitutive my exquisite taste for their own. But, I have seen some things that just make me cringe. The sad thing is that many of these students feel that what they wear is 100% acceptable, even in the workforce!

Here is my guide to the fashion inept. I wonder if anyone else has encountered these students.

-- The Nouveau Slut: These are the young ladies who take their fashion cues from Little Kim and similar ilk by wearing things so low cut that if seen on TV would be digitally altered.

--The Rapper Wannabe: These students wear their pants at 'half mast' and large amounts of jewelry. If these students knew the origin of wearing their pants that low, they would be wearing them like Steve Urkel! Unless a rapper has died, there is no need for this. It also amazes me how some of my students claim that they do not have two dimes to rub together, but the have large gold chains around their necks. I guess paying bills is low on the priority scale.

--The Delusional: These are the students who honestly believe that they are a size 2 when they are actually a size 22. They wear their clothes so tight that they look like a Bob Evans Sausage. Do these students even own a mirror?

--The Exhibitionist: These are the students who want you to see their latest tattoo, thong, piercing or pregnancy. They have no problem playing 'show and tell'. See my last post for proof!

And I had to fight not to wear panty hose in the summer!