Uniforms or No Uniforms in Schools?

Christopher Lambert

Staff Writer

For the longest time, schools required uniforms for their students to wear.

Typically,  private schools enforce these rules and regulations on their students to distinguish  themselves from other schools.

As a former public-school student, and an alumnus of  Saint John’s High School in Shrewsbury, I have felt and experienced both sides of the  beloved school uniform debate. Going to public school through middle school, I got to  wear whatever clothes I wanted to. I would wear sports jerseys all the time and thought  that was the norm going through life.

When I shadowed a day in the life at my future catholic school, I did not like that I had to wear a jacket and tie. In fact, I did not want to go  to that school for that reason, among other reasons.

However, after the first couple weeks  of my freshman year of high school, my perspective changed. It felt good to dress up every  day and feel professional and grown up.

A sense of pride overcame me and my fellow  classmates. Even my now roommate, Nick Ewing, would agree that the uniforms and dress  code set us apart from other schools and made us feel professional.

During the holiday  season during my freshman year when I had to dress up either for church or for holiday get  togethers, I realized I knew how to tie a tie. I knew what shoes to wear, and especially I knew not to wear white socks with dress shoes.

The school dress code had put me ahead  of the game from other schools and at times I have even gotten to teach my roommates  and friends how to tie the perfect half Windsor knot.

Going to job interviews has become  much easier as I know exactly what to wear and how to match. Even going into JC Penney  or Macy’s has become much easier and enjoyable because I enjoy knowing what nicer and  more professional clothes that I should buy. School uniforms teach students how to dress nicely at a young age and make students feel professional.

Uniforms embody the look good  feel-good mentality and have given students like me a leg up in the world.