Students Uniformly Opposed
Sunday, September 3, 2006
By BRIAN SPADORA
HERALD NEWS
When it comes to school uniforms, the decades that separate
Eastside High School students from their parents and school
administrators might as well be centuries.
School officials raised several issues at an orientation program
for incoming Eastside freshmen on Thursday evening --
homework, school safety, graduation requirements,
extra-curricular activities -- but nothing got students groaning
like the idea of dressing the same.
Board of Education Vice President Andre Sayegh said to students
and parents, "I'm a big supporter of Eastside High School, and
I'm also a big supporter of school uniforms."
One student said to himself, "Oh, hell no!"
Sayegh and Principal Karen Johnson gave a litany of reasons why
uniforms would benefit Eastside High: parents would save money,
students would not have to worry about fitting in by wearing
certain clothes, faculty members would be able to easily identify
intruders.
After each point, parents applauded. One mother nodded and
said, "That's right! That's right!"
The same student said, quietly, "You're crazy as hell."
At the end of his presentation, Sayegh told the students, "I hope
to see you soon, and I hope to see you in a school uniform."
A public school district cannot mandate that students wear
uniforms, so the decision to implement them must be made by a
majority of parents, Sayegh said in a telephone interview
Saturday. District administrators plan to poll parents throughout
the district to gauge support for uniforms, he said.
School 3 will introduce uniforms this year as a pilot program,
Sayegh said, and Eastside could follow.
"Children should be competing over what they know, not what
they wear," he said.
At last week's orientation, Johnson introduced two students who
modeled the proposed Eastside uniform.
"What you have here are khaki pants and a golf shirt with an
Eastside Ghosts logo on it," Johnson said, referring to the
school's mascot. One student wore a gray, short-sleeved golf
shirt, while another wore dark blue.
The presentation convinced Dennet Sutton, whose daughter,
Briana, starts her freshman year at Eastside this week.
"I think that uniforms would be a great thing," said Sutton, who
added that not having to shop for school clothes would be a relief.
Briana, 13, did not agree. "I don't want to wear them," she said.
"I just don't."
Jairo Serrano, 15, said he hopes uniforms won't be part of his
freshman year, or any other year.
"I don't think I'll feel comfortable with uniforms," he said.
But Jairo realized that a freshman is not in a position of great
influence.
"If teachers get real strict with it, and it gets mandatory, yeah,
I'll wear it," he said.
Sunday, September 3, 2006
By BRIAN SPADORA
HERALD NEWS
When it comes to school uniforms, the decades that separate
Eastside High School students from their parents and school
administrators might as well be centuries.
School officials raised several issues at an orientation program
for incoming Eastside freshmen on Thursday evening --
homework, school safety, graduation requirements,
extra-curricular activities -- but nothing got students groaning
like the idea of dressing the same.
Board of Education Vice President Andre Sayegh said to students
and parents, "I'm a big supporter of Eastside High School, and
I'm also a big supporter of school uniforms."
One student said to himself, "Oh, hell no!"
Sayegh and Principal Karen Johnson gave a litany of reasons why
uniforms would benefit Eastside High: parents would save money,
students would not have to worry about fitting in by wearing
certain clothes, faculty members would be able to easily identify
intruders.
After each point, parents applauded. One mother nodded and
said, "That's right! That's right!"
The same student said, quietly, "You're crazy as hell."
At the end of his presentation, Sayegh told the students, "I hope
to see you soon, and I hope to see you in a school uniform."
A public school district cannot mandate that students wear
uniforms, so the decision to implement them must be made by a
majority of parents, Sayegh said in a telephone interview
Saturday. District administrators plan to poll parents throughout
the district to gauge support for uniforms, he said.
School 3 will introduce uniforms this year as a pilot program,
Sayegh said, and Eastside could follow.
"Children should be competing over what they know, not what
they wear," he said.
At last week's orientation, Johnson introduced two students who
modeled the proposed Eastside uniform.
"What you have here are khaki pants and a golf shirt with an
Eastside Ghosts logo on it," Johnson said, referring to the
school's mascot. One student wore a gray, short-sleeved golf
shirt, while another wore dark blue.
The presentation convinced Dennet Sutton, whose daughter,
Briana, starts her freshman year at Eastside this week.
"I think that uniforms would be a great thing," said Sutton, who
added that not having to shop for school clothes would be a relief.
Briana, 13, did not agree. "I don't want to wear them," she said.
"I just don't."
Jairo Serrano, 15, said he hopes uniforms won't be part of his
freshman year, or any other year.
"I don't think I'll feel comfortable with uniforms," he said.
But Jairo realized that a freshman is not in a position of great
influence.
"If teachers get real strict with it, and it gets mandatory, yeah,
I'll wear it," he said.
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