Much hullabaloo followed the decree at the start of this school year that solid red or blue clothing would no longer be allowed on the public middle school and high school campuses.
A common complaint: “Why can’t my child wear her favorite colors?” And a common observation: “But those are the colors of our nation!”
The school district has held its ground, arguing in parent meetings on the several campuses and again last week at the monthly meeting of the school board that the problem was one of perception, the mere appearance of gang activity when some number of students wear red or blue, the colors of the Norteño (northern) and Soreño (southern) gangs, respectively.
We don’t pretend to be authorities on gangs, which create problems for law enforcement and youth all over California. But while we’ve been more free of obvious problems than have larger communities nearby, we believe the Sonoma County Sheriff’s assertion that Sonoma Valley does have a gang problem. Will simply removing those colors solve it? No, certainly not, but it goes a long way toward reducing the problem on our school campuses.
The given rationale is that students wearing gang colors at school create an atmosphere of intimidation there, and that this tension is created even if many of the students intentionally “representing” a gang are “wannabes,” not actual gang members. Obviously, such tension detracts from the business of education, and permitting that tension to exist has been a failing in our schools.
Amidst the public outcry was a calm statement by high school senior Ethan Cohen, the elected Voice (student body president), who as student trustee commented at the recent school board meeting that he, a perpetually happy, easy-going fellow, used to be hassled by kids on campus if he wore red or blue clothing – but not this year – and that there hasn’t been a fight on campus yet this year. He concluded by saying, “Stop the violence.” Wow.
The new dress code enforcement addresses another source of tension, one that also detracts from the business of education, and that’s sexual tension. For many adults, entering the school campuses has meant raising their gaze, literally, from highly exposed body parts of female students. Fashions go through fads, and the bare midriffs of a few years ago are out of favor, but now cleavage seems to be in. Or rather it’s out, in the open.
What do we teach the young women in our community? By the looks of them, the message may have been that short, tight clothing or low necklines are an appropriate way to dress at school. Yet these are the same exploitive messages that many of us decry in magazines, television and film today. By enforcing the existing dress code, the message becomes healthier: students on campus should dress appropriately for the business of learning, so that they may be judged on their educational achievements rather than on their physical attributes.
The insightful Kristen Aguilar, who writes the student blog for the Sun, is right to wonder if teenage boys are so easily distracted. The answer, however much we as a society might wish it were otherwise, is, “Yes, they are.” Boys’ attention follows the hems, from the ankles of a century ago to whatever is shown today.
Several readers have suggested recently the use of school uniforms as a means to address both of these issues, as well as several others, and we don’t dispute any of their arguments, adding to them the observations that parochial schools have long used uniforms and that El Verano Elementary School here in the valley does, as well.
Today, we simply applaud the gumption shown by the principals at Altimira, Adele and Sonoma High, and we wish them continued support from their teaching staffs and growing support from the community. In our view, enforcement of the dress code is the right choice.
