EDITORS' CORNER
Sweeping dress code compromises student expression, free speech group says
Tuskegee University’s president pushed back against criticism of the school’s dress code in a Sunday interview, arguing that requiring professional attire ensures students are “job-ready.”
“If you raise the bar, students will reach it,” President Mark Brown told Fox News.
“Why don’t we raise the bar? That’s what I think we ought to do. We’re unapologetic about that part,” he said.
Brown added that the goal of the dress code is to set students up for success. “The focus is how do I make you a professional in whatever space you want to go in?” he said.
“Any higher education institution in the country that’s not focused on student success, no matter what type of university that is, is not focused where they should be. That’s why we exist. That’s exactly why we exist,” he said.
The historically black university in Alabama sparked outrage after it emphasized the dress code in a recent announcement.
Students are required to wear professional business attire, such as suits, to campus. They are also “prohibited from wearing revealing clothing” or non-religious head coverings like bonnets or du-rags to class.
“Faculty will be empowered to respond to students who are inappropriately dressed based on these guidelines,” the announcement states.
It further states that students cannot use cell phones in class.
The announcement adds that “Employers are less forgiving and too often presentation may overrule stellar preparation.”
After classes began this month, Brown saw that “The bar was raised and it was being reached.”
“I had a wonderful time riding around and walking around the campus on the first and the second day of class,” he said.
He added that the school is a “university of standards” and that all higher education should maintain high standards as well.
While the dress code is not new, the school is placing “greater emphasis” on it this semester, Brown told Fox News.
Tuskegee has also made plans to host a professional who will teach students how to dress properly, “including how to button a coat and properly wear a tie,” Fox News reported.
The dress code has drawn criticism from free speech advocates, including the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
“Tuskegee can’t promise students broad freedom of expression while enforcing a sweeping dress code that regulates ordinary, non-disruptive expression,” FIRE Senior Program Counsel Haley Gluhanich told Fox News.
While the dress code’s goal is legitimate, preparing students for success in the workforce does not hinge on what they wear, she said.
“As a private university, Tuskegee may choose to place other values ahead of expressive freedom, but if it does, it should be honest with current and prospective students about the limits of its commitment to free expression,” Gluhanich said.
MORE: U. Missouri suspends staffer who told undercover reporter DEI continues
