ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, January 29, 1996 TAG: 9601300048
SECTION: NEWSFUN PAGE: NF-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SARAH COX SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES
Some kids say wearing uniforms to school would make them look like clones. Others say they'd be great. Most of the pupils who dowear school uniforms say they like them.
Pupils at both North Cross School (a private school in Roanoke County) who follow a dress code, and pupils in public schools say they believe uniforms would restrict their self-expression.
"I don't think kids should have to wear uniforms because regular clothes are more comfortable. Wearing the same clothes every day would make them uncomfortable,'' said sixth-grader Katie Gaut, who attends Northside Middle School.
But Jessica Bigoney, a fifth-grader at Roanoke Catholic School, say she likes wearing a uniform because it's comfortable. Plus, "you don't have to worry about what you're wearing in the morning.''
Gaut admitted that indecision can be a problem, but it's never made her late for school - yet.
Bigoney, on the other hand, said "I'd be sort of in a panic all morning, and I wouldn't know what to wear, because I have a lot of weird stuff.''
Bigoney said she and her mother would like to be involved in a uniform review committee being formed at Catholic. Bigoney's brother, Andrew, in sixth grade at Roanoke Catholic, also likes wearing his uniform, which is navy blue slacks or shorts during designated seasons; a blue or yellow dress shirt; a solid color belt; low-cut athletic shoes in either black, white or navy; and a solid navy blue sweater. He, too, doesn't want to have to worry about what to put on in the morning.
But he also has a sense of pride in his school, he said. "When we're out in public, everyone knows we go to Roanoke Catholic School and I'm proud of it,'' Andrew Bigoney said.
Jack Rattenbury, also a sixth-grader at Roanoke Catholic, said he would welcome a uniform review by the school. His uniform is not very stylish, he said. Principle Karen Mabry said that's one reason the school might revise and update the uniforms.
Mabry said Roanoke Catholic does have "out-of-uniform days," but sometimes the pupils don't welcome the privilege. Seniors, at the end of the school year, are allowed to wear their choice of clothes on given days, but Mabry said some actually complain because of the pressure to wear popular styles.
Mabry said people send their children to Roanoke Catholic mainly for the Christian values, and most parents believe the uniform code supports those values. When everybody wears the same thing, she said, the pressure is taken away from them to dress a certain way.
"We try to view each student as unique and focus on the personhood of them,'' she said.
A Roanoke Catholic parent, Kate Ellman, says she loves the uniforms because it makes mornings in her house so much easier. Besides, she said, it's a lot less expensive.
On a serious note
In addition, Mabry and Rick Brown, Roanoke Valley Christian Schools' administrator, agree that dress codes and uniforms add a seriousness to the way a student approaches school.
Roanoke Valley Christian has a dress code, Brown said, to teach its pupils the basic principles of neatness, modesty and appropriate dress.
A dress code means kids must follow certain rules about the way they dress. For instance, very short skirts and torn blue jeans might not be allowed under a dress code.
Learning how to dress neatly goes a long way toward teaching pupils how to dress in college, and beyond that, in the professional world, Brown said.
At Roanoke Valley Christian, the dress code does not permit girls to wear sundresses and tank tops, nor shorts, except in kindergarten. Boys' shirts must be tucked in, and shorts are not permitted.
"We try, as much as possible, to avoid extremes in dress, and to encourage our students not to attract undue attention,'' Brown said.
Gary Lange, a fifth-grader at Roanoke Valley Christian, doesn't like the dress code very much because it doesn't allow him to wear his favorite kind of clothes - sweats.
"I like sweat suits a lot. They feel more comfortable than jeans,'' he said. As for uniforms, he would not like to have to put one on, simply because he likes picking out what to wear in the morning.
Dress code debate
North Cross has wrestled with the issue of dress codes versus uniforms for 10 years, said Liz Holt, director of the lower school.
Although North Cross has never had uniforms, the issue is being discussed by a parents council. The North Cross dress code can be complicated, and some say it's unfair to the boys in the upper school who are required to wear ties, long pants, belts, button-down or turtleneck shirts and sweaters.
Holt said she thinks the same way Brown does about a dress code lending an air of seriousness to the educational atmosphere.
"This [school] is your job - it's a different setting than when you go to soccer, and it deserves some acknowledgment,'' she said. She, too, thinks that dressing neatly affects pupils' behavior.
On their "dress-down" days, Holt said the level of noise and activity greatly increases.
Becky Goodwin, who is president of the North Cross Parents Council, said some parents are concerned about their kids trying to "keep up.'' Goodwin said North Cross has kids on scholarships, and they can't always afford the nicer clothes. And she, too, thinks the kids act better when they dress better.
"The problem they're having with girls is the length of their skirts - when they sit, it's a problem,'' she said.
Natalie Rappaport, a North Cross sixth-grader who attended a Montgomery County public school until fourth grade, said she likes the dress code because it makes the pupils look neater. She said the ripped jeans, ripped T-shirts and shorts in the winter she saw at the public school was "kind of ridiculous.''
But, uniforms would make everyone look like clones, said Rappaport. "I would rather live with the pressure of styles than wear a uniform. You can wear what you want, and be cool for who you are.''
Public school policy
So what happens at a public school that has no dress code to speak of, and certainly no uniform? Although some public schools in the country have adopted uniforms, Roanoke and Roanoke County have not. Roanoke County Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jim Gallion said that in some ways, there are uniforms at school - "the teen-agers dress very similarly, I would say, '' he joked.
Gallion said the county hasn't felt a need to discuss uniforms because the students' way of dressing hasn't been a problem. Some schools in New York City have gone to uniforms, but that was to prevent theft of valuable items of clothing and discourage kids from wearing gang-related colors. "Fortunately, we haven't had to deal with those kinds of problems,'' he said.
At Northside Middle School, sixth-graders Katie Gaut and Sarah Light vote "no" on uniforms because they think it would squash individuality. Gaut said that although there are those who make fun of others for the clothes they wear, she doesn't pay much attention to it. Light agreed.
"It 's how you act that gets you more friends. And a uniform covers a person's true identity,'' she said.
LENGTH: Long : 132 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: JESSIE CHRISTNER. Modeling their school uniforms areby CNB(from left) Roanoke Catholic pupils Risa Garza, Jessica Bigoney,
Andrew Bigoney, Josh Baumgartner and Brandi Sharp. color.