Gang Look Hemmed In on Campus : Burbank: School officials find creative ways to enforce a recently enacted strict dress code. Some students grumble, but most are complying.

In her office at Burbank High School, Assistant Principal Gaylene Van Zjill carefully pinned up the pant legs of a ninth-grade boy, just high enough so the frayed bottoms no longer draped the floor.

Then she gave him detention.

After she found Raul Castellon in the hallway wearing a white T-shirt, oversized black pants and an initialed belt buckle, Van Zjill taped a small square of white paper over the initial.

Then she ordered Castellon to wear a sweater for the rest of the day.

“You’re going to have to concentrate on dressing (like a) school boy,” she told Castellon. “Can you do that?”

“I’ll try,” he allowed after some discussion.

Since last week when the Burbank Unified School District began enforcing a new dress code that bans “gang-related apparel,” students throughout Burbank have had to take a new approach to fashion--at least while on campus.

Oversized pants worn with white T-shirts, black-and-white Starter jackets, initialed belt buckles--which could represent a gang--baseball caps and bandannas are now on the outlawed list and can ultimately lead to suspension of students who continually wear them on campus.

But Burbank students may not be alone. Schools throughout the state have been considering similar codes since Gov. Pete Wilson last September signed AB 980, an Assembly bill that permits local school boards to prohibit clothing they deem to be gang-related, said Patti Roberts, spokeswoman for the California School Boards Assn.

“The bill is one aspect of trying to make schools safer not only for children but for teachers and administrators also,” said Cindy Katz, spokeswoman for the governor’s Office of Child Development and Education.

While the Burbank code is in its nascent stage, Burbank administrators like Van Zjill have used a mix of strict lecturing, creativity and compassion to help students adhere to the new rules.

“I’ve hemmed pants, I’ve pinned pants, I have taught them to sew,” she said sitting in her office Tuesday morning. “I will do anything to help them follow this code.”

“The overriding issue is the safety and security of students on campus . . . . I want them to come to school to learn.”

Reaction from parents and others in Burbank has been favorable, said Supt. Arthur Pierce. Other local school districts have contacted district officials in Burbank to obtain copies of the code.

“Everything is going well,” Pierce said. “At this point I have had no complaints.”

Since Jan. 3, there have been four suspensions at John Burroughs High School and two at Luther Middle School, Pierce said. At Burbank High School, no students have been suspended, but 18 have served detention and many have been warned or their parents have been called.

Suspension is the last resort and one that administrators would rather not take, Van Zjill said. She realizes too, she said, that for some students clothes provide a sense of identity and power.

“You want to be careful not to damage ego and self-esteem,” she said. “We let them know we’re doing this out of love and concern.” Dressed in a white T-shirt, and wearing size 50 black pants on his 30-something-size frame, Castellon said changing his style of dress would be hard.

“I can’t,” he said, leaning against a wall in the hallway with a group of friends. “I wouldn’t look the same. I’ve been wearing this the whole school year.”

Response among students to the new code has been mixed. The topic has been discussed in classes, during lunch breaks and even debate tournaments.

“They’re not going to change the gang problem,” said 11th-grader Robert Pettit as he walked to first period Tuesday morning. “They’re going to change the gangs’ clothes. Then the gangs will start wearing something else.”

Many students said the banned apparel, specifically the baggy pants, are worn by students who simply like the comfort of big clothes or the idea of keeping in step with current fashion.

“You don’t have to be a gang member to wear those clothes,” said Tenaye Giggles, 16.

But others, like Shannon Lundquist, 18, would even take the code a step further.

“Uniforms--that’s all I say,” she said. “It’s more businesslike, more distinguished and people don’t have to argue about what’s appropriate.”

Senior Bridget Hagen, 17, who debated the issue in a high school speech competition over the weekend, said students should abide by the new rules.

“Personally, I think schools should have the right to ban whatever they want,” she said. “I’m glad because I don’t like seeing that style . . . . I think the consensus of our school, especially my grade, is ‘tough. Deal with it.’ ”

Other students said the code, however well-intentioned, could be financially difficult for their families.

“I don’t have money to buy a whole new wardrobe,” said Kesha Jackson, 16, who was wearing a banned jacket, but so far has not been disciplined. “I guess they know it’s the only jacket I have.”