What you wear vs.
By Alan Khamoui
who you areCLOTHING has always been a big issue for young adults. Especially when we receive flak from adults.
One often hears Mom or Dad utter "Why are you wearing that?" or "Don't you have better clothes to wear?! You look silly; take that off right now."
One learns to skillfully avoid any line-of-sight contact before going out. But now the issue has reached our domain, school.
What's the problem?
I agree that showing bra straps and underwear, as outlawed at many schools, is inappropriate. Teen-agers have common sense. The clothes girls wear reveal very little -- much to the chagrin of teen-age males across the state.
One possible reason for this antagonism is that kids believe they are older than they really are, and adults think kids are younger than they really are.
Obviously, conflict will arise. We feel that we are capable of dressing ourselves, while parents think we don't know the left shoe from the right.
The standards for what is acceptable is determined by the social norm. In order for one not to be ridiculed or avoid ostracism, one needs to conform to the rules of the majority. Herein lies the loss of individuality. Clothing is one way in which people can define themselves, usually, without harm to anyone else.
Some administrators decide which clothes are appropriate by what is appropriate for the school environment. But what is appropriate for an educational milieu?
At some colleges, such as the University of California at Berkeley, there are students who have attended classes naked.
Others have argued that the type of clothes you wear reflects your attitude.
It may be a bit extreme to say, but this sort of disposition draws parallels to racism, the portrayal of a person's merit on the basis of physical appearance.
Impressions are crucial and as humans we cannot avoid making assumptions when we meet others, but one should try to resist the temptation and judge people on the quality of their character, not on the basis of stereotypes.
GUYS love to see the girls in clothing such as spaghetti-strap tops. For some, it may be the only reason they attend class. For educators to know that it isn't their superb teaching abilities that draw students to class, but rather the ladies, is disheartening. At least students are attending class and not cutting.
By hanging around, the chance exists for an accident to occur, they might discover something that captivates their mind. Isn't that what's supposed to happen?
Curriculum requires students to take an array of classes in the hopes that one subject will tickle our imagination. Stranger things have happened.
In the end, very little can be done to regulate what students wear. If drugs and guns can't be kept off campus, what chance is there to stop shirts and pants?
The fact that people argue over such a topic makes one appreciate living in America. It reflects the freedom, which we occasionally take for granted, that makes this country so great.
In other countries, such as Japan, students don't have a choice. You will wear the uniform and that is final.
But with any freedom, a price accompanies it. That price is the freedom to be challenged and come under scrutiny by others.
And anyone who has ever worn polyester or bell bottoms shouldn't be criticizing our fashion style.
I shake my head and ask, "What in God's name were you inhaling?"
Alan Khamoui is a senior at Punahou School. Rant & Rave is a Tuesday Star-Bulletin feature
allowing those 12 to 22 to serve up fresh perspectives.
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