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Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!rochester!udel!news.sprintlink.net!in2.uu.net!world!sharon
From: sharon@world.std.com (Cerebus)
Subject: Re: Uniforms in schools
Message-ID: <DFst72.620@world.std.com>
Organization: The World @ Software Tool & Die
References: <44fued$6bn@times.tfs.com> <44hb0e$gie@cnn.princeton.edu> <AC93048B9668134554@204.156.153.170> <DFqpKo.L6o@world.std.com> <DFsr1n.EzL@rci.ripco.com>
Date: Mon, 2 Oct 1995 01:52:13 GMT
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Xref: glinda.oz.cs.cmu.edu comp.ai.edu:2811 comp.edu:14345

marion10@ripco.com (Marion Baumgarten) writes:

>Cerebus <sharon@world.std.com> wrote:

>>
>> Not to mention the *Big* (for me at least) problematic element of this
>> theory. If you, as a family, value non-conformity, non-preppiness (is that
>> an adjective?) and individuality, what does that say about the contrast of
>> the school values.  Middle and high school particularly make it very clear
>> that they value conformity *anyway*, and tend to be a struggle for
>> non-conformist students.  I find it disturbing to increase that trend -
>> because why I realize there are real problems of violence and competition
>> expressed by children's clothing, it seems first of all that the clothing
>> does not generate the conflicts, but rather expresses them, and secondly,
>> that it increases ever more the school's attempts to turn adolescents into
>> conformist clones.


>--
>But even when they are choosing their own non-confomist clothes, they're
>still conforming to fit in with the non-conformist group ( got it).
>Frankly, I think he unifirms would free up the time spent on clothing
>issues to do other things.

I don't honestly remember a lot of time spent on clothing issues.  But
I do remember caring very much about how I expressed myself.  And that
wasn't like some non-conformist group - it was like me.  And I knew
lots of others like that - the grunge rockers, the punks and the
neo-hippies aren't part of harmful groups, they are part of communities
that wear their alliegence to a certain extent in their clothing.
They aren't spending lots of time on that look, but it matters to them
that their clothing express something important to them.  I don't see
why that ought to be prevented.  Shall we ban self-expression in 
haircuts?  Body piercing?  Hair color?  How far do you go in telling
the young adult who they are allowed to be?

Sharon Astyk
