Yesterday I was scrolling through my Facebook feed and saw a photo from this week's newspaper dated October 25, 2016, on the shooting at Union Middle School in Sandy. , Utah. The article reported that a fourteen-year-old student shot another sixteen-year-old student right there in the parking lot at point blank range. The shooter was arrested and the sixteen-year-old victim was transported to the emergency room in critical condition where he underwent extensive surgery. My heart sank. To think this happened in Sandy Utah, not on the streets of Compton. In fact, between 2013 and October 2015 alone, there were 199 school shootings in the United States, an average of nearly one per week (Everytown Research). I sat there in awe, thinking: With all these school shootings lately, there must be some sort of widespread cause! I've been thinking recently about all the different changes in schools that could lead to such behavior. Out of curiosity, I looked at the school's website and found that there were standard dress codes for public schools, but there was no enforcement of school uniforms. I then continued to research the dress code policies of other schools that have recently been attacked by student school shootings and found that most of them did not enforce uniforms or any strict dress code. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"? Get an original essay Some researchers, like Shirley Farrell, argue that bullying and violence, like yesterday's shooting, would have occurred regardless of what that the students had done. wore. She points out that there is no way to officially prove that lack of uniform caused such behavior and that it is simply coincidental evidence. Other experts, such as Friederike Sommer, Pablo Pizzurno, Belinda Luscombe, Randy Rockney, Julian Tanner, and Julian Tanner, would agree with my theory and argue that the lack of school uniforms is a widespread cause of the influx student violence in schools. They say enforcing strict school uniforms and dress codes helps provide the school and students with the structure they need to stay focused on their education rather than getting drawn into violent or unrelated activities and inappropriate. Not only do their studies prove that school uniforms and strict dress codes reduce violence like school shootings, but also other inappropriate actions like bullying, theft, harassment, while helping to increase safety, limit distractions and improve overall academic success. While Farrell makes a valid point, that there is no way to prove that lack of school uniform was the sole cause of such violence, I say that there is sufficient cross-examined evidence to support that this was a sufficiently important factor to take into consideration. There are far too many studies to show that schools that enforce strict dress codes and uniforms have significantly lower rates of violence and bullying, and significantly more academic achievement and school unity for it to be just that. 'a coincidence. Even if, for example, they reduced the rate of violence by just ten percent, wouldn't that be worth it? I would definitely say so. If making uniforms mandatory in all public schools is all it takes to reduce the risk of shootings like thisthat I saw on the news yesterday that was putting helpless sixteen year old boys on operating tables, I would definitely say so. This didn’t just start with school shootings. There are many complex reasons why students would want or be motivated to bomb a school. One of them is bullying. Friederike Sommer, author of the International Journal of Developmental Science, reported that in 88.1% of cases, future perpetrators of school shootings faced social conflicts within the school environment, primarily bullying from other students. When a student is bullied, they feel threatened and angry at that person and also at the school itself, causing them to take matters into their own hands and act irrationally through violent actions, such as shootings. In order to reduce the number of school shootings, we must reduce harmful interactions that occur with students at school and result in harassment. How do we do this? Simple. Apply school uniforms. When students are all dressed in unison, it doesn't allow for much diversity, putting each student on an equal footing. When students have to attend school without any enforced dress standards, there is a clear and defined separation between different groups. Instead of all students just being students, students are separated into rich and poor, popular and unpopular, and stylish and less stylish. This, in turn, allows students to easily form cliques with other peers who are in the same category as them, ultimately alienating others from different categories based on their appearance. Once these lines are drawn as to who belongs to which group, it is far too easy for one group to pick on someone from another group simply because they are considered different. An experiment conducted by a man known as Pablo Pizzurno was done to show the negative effect that different clothing and appearances can have in the public school system. He asked Adelita, a very popular girl who normally dressed stylishly and was always very careful about how she dressed, to go to school for an entire week wearing simple, plain clothes. She wasn't allowed to wear any accessories, she was told to only wear certain bland colors like brown and gray, and the clothes she was told to wear weren't flattering or didn't fit her well at all. In one week of going to school dressed like this, she went from popular miss, prom queen, and practically everyone's favorite to a social pariah. Her old popular friends refused to talk to her, started nasty and untrue rumors about her behind her back, didn't want to spend time with her outside of class, and even gave her hurtful looks and inappropriate comments. At the end of the experience, Adelita comments: “School uniforms become “a social regulator, a means of controlling abuse and excess.” Different styles regulate distance from others and one's place in the social order which ultimately leads only to evil. As unfortunate as these results of the experiment are, they are an accurate representation of what happens in public schools where uniforms are not present. Just one Adelita was harassed by her so-called "friends", students are harassed day in and day out simply based on their appearance and especially the way they dress. With the presence of school uniforms, there would have been nono difference in how Adelita was treated from week to week, because everyone would look the same and the bullying that occurred during the week of the experiment would never have happened. Today, we are actually seeing the opposite effect of harassment. The International Journal of Developmental Science surveyed teachers from thirteen schools in three different states and found that on average 88 percent saw significantly more respect, caring, and trust throughout the school after the application of a school uniform policy. When students are bullied, you see a lack of respect and hostile interactions, but once the school uniform policy took over, the school environment was turned upside down. By enforcing uniforms, we blur the boundaries of social status and it helps students see other students for who they are. are and allow them to shine based on their bright, loving personalities - which in many cases you wouldn't see if you judged them based on their appearance. Students are able to interact with other students from completely different backgrounds and social classes, which they might not have had the chance to do otherwise because they don't fit in and they would not want to risk associating with them. “different” students. The presence of school uniforms greatly reduces the amount of bullying which includes not only hurtful speech and alienation (as in Adelita's case) but also things like theft and sexual harassment. Uniforms act as excellent levelers. They're not meant to be a fashion statement made by the school – in fact, they're meant to look a little ugly. When a uniform is chosen strategically, desirable, expensive and stylish clothing disappears along with body shape. The bland, boring colors everyone wears won't deter students from stealing from each other because they have the exact same t-shirt and pants. Unwanted uniforms also serve as a protection against sexual harassment, as they do not flatter everyone and hide body image. So inappropriate touching and comments from other classmates will also disappear. Expert Belinda Luscombe grew up in a state school with uniforms and saw the effects firsthand when she worked closely with students at three different state schools for more than 20 years. Bullying not only lowers students' self-esteem, but it can also lead to anger toward each other that can fester and evolve into more violent actions. Over the past twenty years, we have seen the correlation between respect for school uniforms and the spectacular reduction in school violence which goes beyond harassment. A school in Long Beach, California, has required school uniforms since 1994 and has seen its school crime rate drop by 76% as a result. Other schools have seen this statistic and recognized that uniform enforcement is a valid and reasonable change they could make in their own public schools to reduce student violence. According to the U.S. Department of Education, in the 2013-2014 school year, nearly 23 percent of public schools mandated school uniforms, up from just 12 percent in 1999-2000. More and more schools are imposing school uniforms because, like everyone else, they want to see their students succeed and flourish, without harming each other. When more schools mandate uniforms, they help ensure safetystudents not only by reducing the number of bullying and violence in schools among students, but also by protecting them from intruders. “School uniforms make it easier for school staff to spot unwanted intruders in the hallways and prevent the importation of some of the more obvious signs and symbols of gang culture into the school environment,” says Julian Tanner, an educator at a secondary school in Canada. Similarly, Randy Rockney, an expert on child and adolescent behavior at Brown University, says that “loose clothing makes it easier to hide guns or drugs. Certain styles or colors may be associated with one gang or another. Real gang members can enter schools without warning if they are dressed like most children or teenagers who attend the school. In public schools without uniforms, baggy pants and extra-large shirts are considered "cool to wear" because this style is glorified by popular culture. Not to mention the fact that this particular style of clothing is popular in gangs. This makes it difficult for other students, teachers and other school officials to know whether the student wearing these clothes is actually involved in a gang or is just following today's fashion trend. Or who can say that the student is really a student? As Rockney said, real gang members could enter schools and authorities would not be able to distinguish them from other students wandering the halls. Uniforms help distinguish students from intruders who could potentially do harm and also prevent them from wearing or associating with violent clubs and gangs. In addition to reducing bullying violence and increasing unit safety, school uniforms also help limit distractions and keep students on the ground. the right path to success. If a school doesn't have a uniform policy, chances are they have some sort of dress code. However, it is difficult to enforce dress codes when certain clothing or accessories may or may not conform to the code. Dress codes are much more subjective than a standard school uniform. For this reason, the amount of time and energy spent between students and school faculty arguing over what is allowed and what is not adds up and ultimately defeats the purpose. principal of the school: get an education. An example of this would be how "political slogans on t-shirts may offend those with a different political perspective, and yet schools may find it perfectly acceptable for girls to wear bikinis to promote sanctioned car washes by the school – whatever can be found.” socially offensive by others. Additionally, the practicalities of enforcing the rules in schools create additional complications and inconsistencies. » (Journal of Philosophy of Education) These additional complications are often exaggerated and end up involving third parties when unnecessary. Omaha, Nebraska, 23 students were suspended from school for wearing inappropriate clothing. The teens, all students at Millard South High School, were ordered to stay home for one to three days in late August for wearing T-shirts in memory of Julius Robinson. For Millard Public Schools officials, the words “Julius RIP” on the shirts were disruptive. The students' parents ended up getting involved with the American Civil Liberties Union and the event appeared all over the news and on social media. The ordeal cost.