Banning School Uniforms

Dear President: I am writing this letter to you about an issue that is important to me as well as my peers in high school and to children of all ages. I have been wearing school uniforms since I was in the fifth grade. While school uniforms were primarily introduced to help increase discipline and reduce peer pressure related to what students wear, I have always believed that they limit our freedom of expression under the First Amendment. In addition, the wearing of school uniforms impacts bullying, absenteeism, and equality among the student body. My discussion of school uniforms is in fact addressing the larger matter of freedom of expression given to every human being under the Bill of Rights. In making this assertion, I would like for you to consider the relevant research and data and to help change the law in favor of banning school uniforms. In recent discussion of school uniforms, a controversial issue has been whether they violate a student's right, under the First Amendment. On the one hand, some argue that there is no violation of this right. On the other hand, however, others argue that there is an infringement on our freedom. The First Amendment gives us freedom of expression, meaning all people, including students, should be able to choose how to express themselves, by choosing their wardrobe. According to the Tinker v. Des Moines case, the Supreme Court stated that "it can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate"(ProCon.org). In other words, I believe students cannot fully express themselves if they cannot wear what they want. This issue matters to me because students, in general, want to wear clothes that are comfortable and that show their individual personality. By establishing a school uniform policy, our freedom is severely limited. Wearing different socks, shoes, jackets, or hats does not fully express our individualism. By requiring school uniforms, schools try to make students appear equal through conformity. A Chicago junior high school student Kyler Sumter wrote in the Huffington Post, "They decide to teach us about people like Rosa Parks, Susan B. Anthony, and Booker T. Washington...We learn about how these people expressed themselves and conquered and we can't even express ourselves in the hallways" (ProCon.org). Diversity is encouraged in our learning, why shouldn't this carry over to our dress? None of us are equal to each other. We are all different. Everyone is not equal. There are students who are smarter, taller, faster, stronger, funnier, and more sarcastic than others. While the wearing of school uniforms tries to make everyone appear equal, students need to express to others and the world who they are. Conventional wisdom has it that the wearing of a school uniform decreases bullying in school. However, a 2007 study found that "school uniforms increased the average number of assaults by about 14[per year] in the most violent schools" (ProCon.org). Texas Southern University informs us that after making uniforms mandatory, school discipline issues increased by 12%. Miami-Dade County Public Schools Office of Education Evaluation and Management emphasizes that middle school outbreaks have doubled within a year of making a mandatory uniform policy. These arguments transfer over to the reason why there has been an increase in absences among students. Many school boards have complained that students are not doing well on tests because of the higher rate of absences. Professor David L. Brunsma claims that after examining many schools, there is a "negative effect of uniforms on academic achievement" (ProCon.org) We must plead the First Amendment and stand up for not wearing school uniforms. My final question is this: is the wearing of school uniforms worth limiting a student's freedom of expression and inviting an increase in bullying, absences, and lower test scores? Students today want to express who they are and make their own choices concerning what they wear. Please give us a law that takes away the limitations of clothing that students can wear on school campuses. Our freedom of expression should continue to be protected by the Constitution.