Most Essay Contest Entrants Oppose Dress Codes

A majority of Ventura County teens who entered the latest Times essay contest criticized school dress codes as unwarranted, unfair and unlikely to curb gangs.

“It is unreasonable to think that simply removing this attire from campuses will eliminate the problem of violent students,” wrote winning essayist Reshma Bishnoi, a junior at Buena High School in Ventura. “Dress codes are a superficial solution to a much deeper problem.”

But many--including several students from private schools where uniforms are required--favored limits on student dress.

“In order to enjoy freedom of expression, one must be alive,” wrote Brenna Halliday, a junior at La Reina High School in Thousand Oaks. “Banning gang attire is the first vital step toward creating a safer environment for our young people.”

The two were among 45 public and private high school students to enter the latest in a monthly series of contests sponsored by the Ventura County Edition of The Times.

Bishnoi’s winning essay, which earns her $100, will be published Sunday on the Ventura County editorial page and will be posted on The Times’ World Wide Web site at https://www.latimes.com/essaycorner.

Students entering the March contest were asked to address this question: Many schools limit how students dress--banning baggy pants, for example--to curb gang activity. Do such rules infringe unnecessarily on student rights, or are they important to keep campuses safe?

Twenty-six essayists opposed limits on student dress.

Among their arguments: teenagers need freedom to express themselves.

“Often people my age . . . have trouble expressing even the simplest things,” wrote Ventura High School junior Wendi Claycomb. “For this is sometimes a very confusing time in one’s life . . . if there are restrictions placed on our self-expression, we lose part of who we are.”

“No matter how far our schools will go to control our outer appearance, it won’t change the way we think or behave, but only oppresses us,” wrote Caitlin Moneypenney-Johnston, a Buena High sophomore.

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“Dress codes at private schools are acceptable,” wrote Monique Navarro, a senior at St. Bonaventure High School in Ventura who noted that she has attended only Catholic schools.

“Public-school dress codes are a totally different story. These are government-run facilities. Every student has a right to dress how they please.”

Some students wrote that limiting clothing associated with gangs amounts to prejudice.

“The football, soccer and cross-country team are also ‘gangs’ and we don’t presume them to be violent criminals,” wrote Henry Tan, 17, of St. Bonaventure High. “Should a basketball or football jersey be considered ‘gang attire?’ ”

Buena High junior Amrit Chima wrote that with dress codes, “we are teaching students to judge rather than to learn, to stereotype rather than explore. Clothing is an expression, not a crime.”

Many also argued that curbs on gang attire don’t work--and that they don’t address the real problem of violence on school campuses.

“If a dress code actually prevented violence at school, its limitations would be justified, but if it does not . . . it is essentially useless unless the root problems behind the violence are solved,” wrote contest winner Bishnoi.

Sociologists have pointed to the breakdown of the family and social institutions--not clothing--as the root cause of gangs, she wrote.

“And if clothing is not the problem, dress codes are not the solution. . . . It is the cause of the fight which must be addressed--not the piece of clothing which provokes it.”

“As a society, we have used this apparel as a scapegoat for the growing problem in our educational institutions.

It is time we focused attention on students, rather than their attire,” wrote Chima of Buena High.

Many also questioned whether school authorities can ever identify all gang-related attire--or keep up with ever-changing fashion.

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“Suppose in six months ‘gang attire’ includes khaki pants or polo shirts or blue jeans or running shoes,” wrote Carina Yamaguchi, another Buena High junior. “Will schools then ban those too?”

Besides, “If some little ‘homey’ wants to let his butt hang out, then let him,” wrote Ventura High School junior Jeremy Trone. “If I don’t want to look, I won’t look.”

More than 40% of essayists, however, agreed that dress codes--from limits on gang attire to uniforms--are good for students.

Many said gang clothing can set the stage for--or even provoke--gang violence, and that student safety must take precedence over the right to self-expression.

“The right to life and the right to education must be secured before all other rights, and only when we have secured them can we begin to seek such abstract ideals as freedom of expression,” wrote Halliday of La Reina.

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“Baggy pants may seem like a harmless fad, but they can easily conceal weapons,” she wrote. “Are a few pants sizes too much to sacrifice for the safety of others?”

“Asking students to make such a small sacrifice like altering their form of dress in exchange for their lives should not be too much to ask,” agreed Heather Gates of Buena High.

“I would gladly give up my right to express myself to be able to gain an education in peace,” wrote Simi Valley High School senior Kevin O’Brien. “How students dress helps them to express their beliefs. . . . But taking away their right to express themselves for eight hours, five days a week, will not severely infringe upon their individuality.”

Beyond preventing violence, limits on student dress can help students focus on their work, some said.

“The wearing of gang attire distracts other students, possibly inducing fear or causing trouble and rivalries; it creates an unnecessary focus on clothing that leads to a disintegration of education,” wrote Emily Hallford, a junior at La Reina.

“If a little thing such as changing the way students dress can help keep more kids in school concentrating on their schoolwork instead of who they are going to stab or kill that day, then why not give it a shot?” agreed Stacie Artner, a senior at St. Bonaventure.

One student argued that gangs--not school officials--are restricting student expression by setting rigid fashion standards.

“Gang-related attire in schools does not liberate; it oppresses, and true freedom of expression can be obtained only by banning it,” wrote La Reina junior Niki Foster.

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Many students supporting dress restrictions said they place only minor limits on personal freedom.

“In no way does the 1st Amendment champion the wearing of gang clothing in schools,” wrote La Reina junior Sandhya Ramadas.

“First Amendment rights can still be exercised in schools in a number of different ways which not only allow students to express their opinions, but also encourage creativity and provoke thought,” through art, music and writing, wrote La Reina junior Krishma Parsad.

Although many students object to restrictions on their self-expression, “What they fail to realize is that school is not a ‘show and tell’ of possessions,” wrote Jennifer Guintu, a junior at La Reina. “Expression through clothes is possible after school.”

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Why the Failing Grades?

April’s essay contest asks Ventura County teens to look at why so many high school graduates lack basic skills needed for college.

The topic: About half of this year’s freshmen at Cal State campuses failed basic reading and math exams. Who’s to blame for this poor performance and what should be done?

Here are the contest rules:

* Eligibility: Any Ventura County high school student may enter.

* Content: Essays must be no longer than 600 words.

* Required information: Entries must include the writer’s name, age, grade and school. A home address and phone number also must be supplied, but will not be published.

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* Deadline: Essays must be received by noon April 27.

* Submission: Entries should be mailed or delivered to: Education Page Editor, Los Angeles Times, 93 S. Chestnut St., Ventura 93001. They may be submitted by fax to (805) 653-7576 or by e-mail to jack.robinson@latimes.com.

* Judging: Winning entries will be chosen by Times editors for originality, persuasiveness, logic and handling of the mechanics of writing, such as grammar, spelling and syntax. Research and reference to current events will be considered. Decisions are final and within the discretion of The Times.

* Publication: Contestants must agree to publication of their work in the newspaper and on the Los Angeles Times Web site, subject to editing. Entries will not be returned and may be used by The Times, its agents, assigns or licensees, in any manner and any media now known or hereinafter devised. Entries and entrants’ names may be used by The Times for promotion purposes.

* Prizes: The winner, to receive $100, will be announced on the Education Page on the first Monday of next month, May 4.