Last fall, Moorehouse College found itself in a bit of controversy when it announced a new dress code. The all-male institution of higher learning modified its dress code to prohibit its men from wearing female garments and make-up. Recently, Vibe magazine sat down to talk with one the Moorehouse men that triggered this dress code alteration.Diamond Martin Pulin was a member of a group of students that called themselves the "Plastics." The Moorehouse Vice President of Student Services actually came out and made a statement specifically about the policy change and the group of men it was targeting. “We are talking about five students who are living a gay lifestyle that is leading them to dress a way we do not expect in Morehouse men.”
Since the whirlwind of hysteria surrounding the dresscode change, Pulin has since left Moorehouse and become a student of American InterContinenal University where is fashion marketing and design. According to him, "Moorehouse wasn't ready for me. “I’m about freedom of expression. I’m about being whomever you truly are inside. I came to Morehouse because of all the historical leaders that attended and impacted the world so heavily. You know, I really wanted to follow in their footsteps. I don’t think Morehouse believes that someone like me—someone who wears heels and dresses—can uphold that reputation. But they’re wrong.”
Personally I'm torn on this decision by Moorehouse. I do understand students wanting to express their creative side and they may not want to conform to generic, mundane [straight] standards forced upon them by a dress code that some may consider oppresive. However, Moorehouse is a school with a rich history of developing leaders that traces it's long history of success back to 1867. And though their policy may offend some, it is a policy that is reflected in most corporate offices. So is it wrong to demand its students to adhere to standards they will have to comply with when they enter the business world?
Please get into the full Vibe article here. And please give me your feedback. Is Moorehouse right or wrong in with their dress code?
1 comment:
I too was not sure where I stood with this, but, rules are rules, its a all male school, and, even with its flaws, its a school with rules and if you are going not follow the rules, its not the school for you, and, in the real world, most jobs have rules on what you can wear. But, somehow I think the Plastics was there to push buttons more than anything else, dressing up like Bey at a all male school? I don't think thei would be allowed at any all male school. Come on now.
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