COMMENTARY ON DRESS CODES : Ban on Gang Wear Won’t Kill Individuality; It Will Save Lives : Linking bandannas and drive-by shootings may seem silly to fashionable students, but it’s deadly serious to school officials.

It’s been an interesting summer. During the last two months, I’ve been called everything from a “fascist” to a “fashion policeman” to a “forward thinker.” The reason? Capistrano Unified School District joined several other Orange County school districts in the establishment of specific standards identifying articles of attire that are unacceptable for school wear.

The dress code adopted by CUSD is very simple in its intent. It underscores the need for students to come to school attired in dress that is reasonably consistent with the atmosphere of a place of learning. As a part of this, students are prohibited from wearing clothing that is unsafe, immodest, obscene or related to gang membership or gang glorification.

While the overwhelming majority of students and parents in our schools support this new policy, in some corners the standards have been met with criticism and protestations citing a denial of free speech and freedom of expression. Many of those complaining were people who grew up in the ‘60s (as did I) and cite similar efforts by school officials at that time to outlaw shoulder-length hair and bell-bottom pants.

But this is not the ‘60s and today’s situation is not as simple as hair length or trouser styles. School officials appreciate the frustrations felt by those who might not fully understand the seriousness of the problem. However, we are asking parents and students to help us create a positive school environment while using the considerable latitude provided so that students might express their individual taste and style.

The essential issue is that school is a place for learning and should have an atmosphere conducive to that mission.

Most reasonable people will agree that clothing which is clearly immodest or which sanctions drug use, alcohol consumption, violence or sexual activity is not proper within a school. It has been much more difficult, however, to explain why bandannas, chains or dangling webbed belts should be outlawed. On the surface, such dress seems to do no harm, and the young people who wear such items may not be gang members at all. A large part of the reason has to do with the escalation of unlawful gang activity in the urban centers of this country and their surrounding environments.

As recently as Sept. 5, the Los Angeles Times reported the latest death of an Orange County teen-ager killed in what is suspected to be a gang-related drive-by shooting. Some may consider it to be stretching the point to make a connection between that 15-year-old Westminster youth lying dead in the street and an innocent fourth-grader coming to school with a shirt labeled “Rag Tag” emblazoned across the front. However, to many school and police officials, the relationship is there and it is a frighteningly real one.

We are all influenced by our own experiences. I remember when, as associate superintendent of the fourth-largest school district in the country, I chaired a meeting in Miami’s Jackson High School in December, 1986. Edward James Olmos was at my side (he was a Miami resident at that time and active in gang-prevention activities) and together we were negotiating with gang leaders--adult males in their 30s--to ensure that the high school would be recognized as neutral gang turf. It was then that I came to the realization that the gang problem in Miami was out of control.

One need only read the newspaper on a regular basis to realize how out of control unlawful gang activity also happens to be in the Los Angeles area just next door to Orange County. Fortunately, the development of gangs as a movement is still in its infancy here in Orange County. We have a chance to combat the gang problem effectively--but only if we realize that it will require a multifaceted approach that includes prevention, intervention, law enforcement and, yes, even outlawing clothing in school, which tends to glorify the gang mystique among the young and naive.

School officials feel confident that the new dress codes will withstand legal challenges. Our position has been considerably strengthened recently by state government leaders. A bill sponsored this year by Assemblywoman Doris Allen (R-Cypress), a member of the Orange County delegation to the California Legislature, specifically allows school districts to ban gang-related clothing.

While the bill still awaits Gov. Pete Wilson’s signature, the fact that the Assembly and Senate have passed it is an indication that state officials also recognize the seriousness of the gang threat.

The major challenge educators face, however, is not a legal one. It is to be able to communicate effectively with our students and their parents in the hope that everyone will understand the larger goal for the larger good. It is to unite the community to help us provide a school environment that is safe, secure and without distractions--an environment where students are free to learn.