ORANGE : School Dress Code Bans Gang Attire

Los Angeles Raiders, Kings and Dodgers hats and jackets and other items identified with gangs officially became off-limits on the Orange High School campus Monday.

While school officials said they expect little opposition to the policy that is supposed to make the school a safer place, some students called the ban unfair and even naive.

The high school of 2,100 students is implementing its interpretation of a districtwide policy that allows schools to prohibit any clothing, hand signal or accessory that “disrupts school operations or is associated with a group that advocates or commits unlawful acts.”

According to the Orange Unified School District’s policy, banning such items is designed to prevent gang activity on campus.

Orange High’s ban addresses only clothing that has caused “incidents” in the past, Principal Shirley Fox said. The school plans to ease into the policy to give students a chance to comply. If a student disregards the ban, an offending hat, jacket or other item will be confiscated. After three offenses, a student may be suspended.

Among students, reaction to the policy is mixed.

Kristin, a senior, said the dress code isn’t an effective way to eliminate gangs on campus. “I’m glad they’re trying to do something. I just think they’re going about it the wrong way,” said Kristin, whose last name was withheld at the request of school officials. “Clothes are a scapegoat. They’re taking them away because they don’t know what else to do.”

Denice, also a senior, supports the dress code.

“They have to do the best they can to provide a safe environment,” she said. “If they think (the dress code) will do it, then that’s what they have to do.”

Fox predicts that uproar over the dress code will fade quickly. “The kids will adapt,” she said. “Any time teen-agers think their independence is threatened, they don’t like it and they’ll fight.”

But the policy is not only controversial on campus, it may be unconstitutional, said Robert Berman, an Orange-based attorney.

Berman said the way the policy is worded, the district seems to be “trying to stop gang affiliation by punishing people for membership in a group. . . . It’s like in the McCarthy era where people were punished for any connection with communism,” he said.

To address the concerns of Berman and others, a revised version of the policy is in the works, said Frank Boehler, director of child welfare for the district.

“I think we need to reword a few things but I think the intent will remain intact,” Boehler said.