ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 9, 1997 TAG: 9702100015
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
RUFFNER MIDDLE SCHOOL is debating whether to require its students to wear uniforms. The kids are giving the idea mixed reviews.
Eric Toliver loves his Carolina blue jacket, but he might have to leave it at home next winter.
He's upset, because he thinks that would be unfair.
Eric, a seventh-grader at Ruffner Middle School in Roanoke, is a fan of the University of North Carolina sports teams. He roots for the Tar Heels and likes to show his support by wearing the jacket.
But he couldn't wear it to school if Ruffner adopts school uniforms.
"I don't like it," Eric said last week as he got a book out of his locker. "I want to be able to wear what I want to."
His friend, Steven Lomax, agreed.
"We don't want uniforms," Steven said. "We want to wear our own clothes."
Another student, Kelly Hayden, said uniforms would be boring.
"No, no, no way do we want them," Kelly said.
The uniform debate is on at the Roanoke school.
Linda Bigger Brown, Ruffner's principal, recently appointed a committee of students, teachers and parents to study the proposal for uniforms.
Some students favor the idea because they believe uniforms would reduce conflicts over clothing, prevent feelings of inferiority and eliminate distractions from studies.
Brown said almost all teachers support uniforms and more parents are becoming receptive to them.
"You wouldn't waste your money on clothes and the latest fashions," said Alicia Vipperman, a sixth-grader. "When the fad goes out, all of your money is gone."
Seventh-grader Monte Gill believes uniforms would help students make better grades.
"You could focus more on your schoolwork," Monte said. "Clothes distract people when people make fun of you for what you're wearing. And there are fights over clothes sometimes."
"It's a problem of kids making fun of you and putting you down if you wear the same outfit two days in a row or a couple of times a week," said Amber Thompson, a sixth-grader. "If we had uniforms, parents wouldn't have to spend so much money in the fall buying clothes."
Anisah Rasheed said some students get angry if others buy clothes or shoes similar to theirs.
"If you buy a pair of shoes, someone will say, 'They're [my style,]' and they want to start fighting," said Anisah, a sixth-grader.
President Clinton has championed the benefits of school uniforms, saying they can help reduce school violence, discipline problems and gang involvement.
Last year, Clinton visited a school in Long Beach, Calif., one of the first public school systems in the nation to require uniforms for all students in kindergarten through the eighth grade.
Many private schools, including Roanoke Catholic, have required student uniforms for years, but they are relatively new in public schools.
The movement for uniforms in public schools began about five years ago, mainly in inner-city neighborhoods.
Advocates say uniforms help reduce discipline problems and conflicts over clothing, ease financial pressure on parents to buy clothes, and make students feel better about themselves.
In a survey of 5,500 principals nationwide last year by the National Association of Secondary School Principals, 70 percent said they believed uniforms would cut down on school violence.
In Virginia, uniforms are being used in a few public schools in Tidewater, Richmond and Danville, mostly on a voluntary basis.
If uniforms are used at Ruffner, they would probably be mandatory, at least initially, to get students accustomed to them, said Brown, the principal.
Donald and Latanya Shepherd, a Roanoke couple, have asked the city School Board to try uniforms at Ruffner. The board agreed to study the request, but said it is a decision that should probably be made by the parents and staff at the school.
The Shepherds are on the Ruffner committee studying uniforms.
Donald Shepherd fears that the conflicts over clothes could get worse as more students move into Roanoke from larger urban areas.
"If something isn't done, students will come from New York or Chicago and we could have more violence or thefts or fights over clothes," he said.
"Academically, I think children will do better with uniforms because they will be more focused," Latanya Shepherd said. "There won't be so much pressure on parents to buy expensive clothes."
Seventh-grader Meagan Meador thinks Ruffner might set the style for city students if it adopts uniforms.
"I think a lot of other schools will want uniforms, too, after we get them," Meagan said.
"I think the idea would spread like wildfire," Donald Shepherd said.
Seventh-grader Beige Bryant believes students would be more willing to accept uniforms if they could help choose the design and color. "I think it would be great to let the students make the choice," she said.
Students will have the opportunity to voice their views if the committee recommends uniforms, Brown said.
Different styles and colors of uniforms will be shown to students before a decision is made, she said. "At forums for students and parents, we will have students modeling uniforms."
Brown believes this will help clear up misperceptions and "show people that we're not talking about military-type uniforms."
Latanya Shepherd believes more parents will support uniforms when they see the types that are under consideration.
Several alternatives are being discussed. For boys, the uniform could be navy blue or black pants with black shoes and white shirt. The boys might be allowed to wear blue or black shorts in warm weather.
For girls, there might be more options, such as white blouses with either blue or black skirts, jumpers or slacks.
Brown said girls at the 700-student school appear to be more receptive to uniforms than boys. The committee hopes to finish its study by next month and hold meetings with students, parents and community residents in April. If the decision is to recommend uniforms, the School Board probably will be asked to approve the plan in May, Brown said.
Legal issues have arisen in some states about mandatory uniform policies because opponents say they infringe on students' freedom of expression.
The U.S. Supreme Court has not ruled on school uniforms, but several state courts have upheld mandatory policies. An Arizona judge has ruled that a uniform requirement doesn't violate the First Amendment, because a school is not a "public forum" where "public sentiment or opinion" is expressed. Moreover, the school in question had said that students who wished to express themselves politically could wear buttons.
LENGTH: Long : 124 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. Monte Gill: Clothes distract people. 2. Aliciaby CNBVipperman: Uniforms would save money. 3. Anisah Rasheed: Fashions
can lead to fights A member of the Ruffner committee studying
uniforms. color.