The Irate Spectator

The extended sem break has finally come to an end and it's back to school for me and my fellow Carolinians. That means back to cramming for exams, penning essays, dragging yourself to class, and most importantly, to the old school uniform securely tucked away in some remote corner of my closet. Of course it will be next week before non-nursing students are required to wear the uniform but I was reminded a few days ago that it doesn't mean I could pretty much wear whatever I want.

Like many private schools, USC both has a Uniform Policy and a Dress Code. While a Uniform tells students what should be worn, a Dress Code lists down the prohibited items of clothing. Tattered pants is one such item and there I was one day trudging my way to the entrance lobby when I was suddenly stopped by the security guard for wearing of the forbidden jeans. I admit I have been quite a critic of the Uniform Policy and the Dress Code for as long as I set foot in the University, in fact I have the honor of helping organize the Student Coalition Against Repressive and Anti-Student Policies (SCRAP) and drafting its position paper against the Uniform, but I've been equally faithful in observing it, going so far as to ALWAYS wear pants whenever I go out in case I have to drop by school. So I was taken aback when the guard pulled me over especially when I'm very sure that tattered pants are not exactly my thing. Okay, my pants were a little ripped along the left pocket but that wasn't exactly tattered and neither was it inappropriate, a little embarassing maybe.

This brings into mind the thorny question of students' freedom of expression which the Uniform Policy and the Dress Code are limiting. As the US Supreme Court puts it in the landmark decision of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, "It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate." This ruling, however, was against public schools and private schools are quick to raise the defense that students "freely and willingly decide to circumscribe " their personal rights "within the framework of the rules and regualtions of the institution" when they enroll. Nonetheless, if the State limits its omnipotence to protect individual freedoms, how much more private institutions?