This following is a guest blog from Kesha Perry, on of my colleagues at the Stennis Institute of Government (reprinted with permission) –
Morehouse College. History. Tradition. Martin Luther King, Jr., Spike Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, Maynard Jackson, and countless others have roamed the halls and grounds of this private, all-male, historically black institution. Recently, Morehouse has instituted a dress code policy in efforts to “get back to the legacy,” according to Dr. William Bynum the school’s Vice President of the Office of Student Services. He continued, “We expect our young men to be Renaissance men.” This policy was not only driven by the powers-that-be at Morehouse, but also by student leaders. Cameron Thomas-Shah, student government’s co-chief of staff, believes “the image of a strong black man needs to be upheld. And if anyone sees this policy as something that is restrictive then maybe Morehouse is not the place for you.”
Morehouse is not the only historically black college or university (HBCU) to institute a dress code. Hampton University has instituted one, which also encourages its graduate business students with locs or braids to cut their hair. Bennett College in North Carolina has adopted a comparable policy as Morehouse’s.
Included in the new dress code policy:
–no caps, do-rags and/or hoods in classrooms, the cafeteria, or other indoor venues
–no sun glasses worn in class or at formal programs
–no jeans at major programs, as well as no sagging pants on campus
–no clothing with derogatory or lewd messages either in words or pictures
–no wearing of clothing usually worn by women (dresses, tops, tunics, purses, pumps, etc.) on the Morehouse campus or at college-sponsored events.
Those found in violation will not be allowed to attend class until they abide by the new policy. However, repeat offenders could be subject to suspension.
The one restriction that has many students upset is the no wearing of women clothing. Co-president of Safe Space, a gay-straight student alliance, Daniel Edwards believes the policy unfairly targets gays. “Some believe that this restriction is what the entire policy is correlated around. It is all an issue of perception and what manner of image you want to prescribe to.”
Click here to read a CNN article regarding this restriction of the policy.
Dr. Bynum believes this policy “is necessary, this is needed according to the students. We know the challenges that young African-American men face. We know that how a student dresses has nothing to do with what is in their head, but first impressions mean everything.”
(Interviews courtesy of Mashaun D. Simon of the Atlanta Journal Constitution)
Published in: The Black Man on October 20, 2009 at 8:00 pm Comments (1)
Tags: Atlanta Journal Constitiution, Bennett College, CNN, Dr. William Bynum, Hampton University, HBCU, Jr., Martin Luther King, Mashaun D. Simon, Maynard Jackson, Morehouse College, North Carolina, Samuel L. Jackson, Spike Lee
The Value of Public Forums
On June 26, 2010 57 town hall meetings were held simultaneously in cities all across the country. The 3500 American participants spanned a wide spectrum of ages, ethnicities, religions and political affiliations. They discussed and learned about ways to reduce the federal budget. They were presented with 42 options that had been developed by a national advisory committee, and were encouraged to suggest additional options to meet the deficit cutting goal.
When the votes were tallied, a vast majority – 85 percent of participants – expressed support for cutting the defense budget by at least five percent. More than half favored reducing defense spending by at least 15 percent. More than six in ten participants expressed support for reducing health care spending by at least five percent. No options for reducing Social Security benefits received a majority of support.
These public forums demonstrate that public discussion of issues can be a valuable way to make public policy decisions. When people listen to understand rather than to influence others they find that they often have more in common than they previously believed.
The forums are summarized and analyzed in a report entitled The Difference That Deliberation Makes – Evaluating the “Our Budget, Our Economy” Public Deliberation.
In January and February 2011 The Stennis Institute at Mississippi State University will be conducting a series of forums around Mississippi in co-sponsorship with local mayors on a similar subject. It will be interesting to see what Mississippians think about the future of their economic security.
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