BY JAHEIM WASHINGTON

JHop Times Staff Writer

 

At the beginning of the 2018-19 school year, John Hopkins administration informed students of a new uniform policy. Students can wear “polo style black, hunter green, or burgundy colored shirts.” During cold weather, students can wear “hoodies and sweatshirts solid black, hunter green and burgundy,” according to the John Hopkins website. So, let’s talk about what the school thinks about this new uniform policy.  

We have this policy because most teachers say the students act better when students have a uniform policy. Many students like seventh-grader Carlos Golden don’t like the uniforms. “(The uniforms) are boring and I like wearing plain shirts,” said Golden. “I don’t like the collared shirts because it kind of hurts my neck.” Other students like Layla Purcell, who is in sixth grade, agree. Purcell has mixed opinions on uniforms saying they are “agreeable and disagreeable” but that she does not want to wear the same clothes every day.

I believe that the policy is great for making students behave better than other schools. Wearing uniforms is also easier for students if they don’t have the money or something happened that would prevent them from being able to buy designer clothes. Wearing a uniform can be a good idea.

Still, teachers need to understand what we want and why we want it. Sometimes students feel like we are imprisoned and we don’t have a choice. I don’t think I’ll ever get to wear what I truly want in my J. Hop years.

Purcell agrees. “I don’t think they’ll get rid of uniforms any time soon.” We also know that we’ll “probably get an infraction from or IC” if we don’t wear them. It’s true. I also think they put uniforms in this school to get students and teachers to focus on education and not what someone is wearing. Although most likely many students wish uniforms did not exist at this school.

We understand why we have them, but we think we are mature enough to behave better without them. I, like Golden, also wish that we did not have to wear collared shirts. We could wear non-collared shirts but still, wear school colors.

I wonder if the administration could award excelling students by allowing them to come to school in the clothing of their choice. That would make the students act well. Everyone wants to wear their own clothes. So why not let the good students wear their own clothes while the bad students suffer until they learn to behave?

I think that would be more effective than punishing everybody. If students act up again, simply enforce the uniform policy. I think students don’t like wearing uniforms because they enjoy expressing their feelings through clothes and accessories. This is the same as artistic students expressing themselves with colors.

Can we all just think about it?