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[antiphon1]

We had a kerfuffle about dress when a student complained that a female professor's cleavage was distracting.  Who knew?  Females over 20 have breasts?  Really? 

Why is the conversation strictly about females?  Why aren't we talking about male plumber crack or grotty toe jam?  Now, that's pretty distracting.

In all seriousness, dress codes are pretty much an invitation to see how far the limits can be pushed. 

[fishprof]

I AM talking about males as well.  My comments about the lab safety requirements were NOT gender specific.

These conversations usually start in the wrong place - specifically at the "How do I ban what I don't like?".   A better place to start is at the "What is the goal of the policy?" point, and see what logically follows from those explicit goals.

Unless, of course, you think the best place to start the discussion of dress codes is at the NO stage :)

[antiphon1]

Unless, of course, you think the best place to start the discussion of dress codes is at the NO stage :)

That developmental stage is probably the last time anyone listened to me around here.

In all honestly, a lab situation is about safety not taste level.  I have to fight this battle, too.  Any person may wear anything they choose to a work call so long as they are safe climbing a ladder, operating a power tool, painting a flat, carrying an object over 50 lbs or working with electricity.  Loose or revealing clothing and high heeled or open toed shoes pretty much violate the safety standards.  Want to get a part caught in the saw?  (Yes, I have uttered this sentence.)  That's up to you.  But, you still have to complete the safety training and sign a waiver. 

[marigolds]

Didn't some all-male HBCU recently have a kerfuffle over a dress code because some of the young men were wearing drag to class?  I can't remember the details--I think they implemented the dress code specifically to stop the men from wearing women's dress and the men sued because of homophobia. 

Who cares, really?  I HATED working at places with dress codes.  Why infantilize the students more?  They'll learn pretty quickly when they hit the job market what's appropriate and what's not.  I haven't seen a single student outfit that I'd want to ban.  (Many I mock, of course, but nothing I'd ban.)

[polly_mer]

I haven't seen a single student outfit that I'd want to ban.  (Many I mock, of course, but nothing I'd ban.)

Ban is a harsh word, but I've seen lots of things I would rather not see including areolae and genitalia (no nipples yet, but that's because I've learned to look only at student faces and situate myself so I'm never watching anyone bend over from any angle).  Sure, you can wear anything you want to wear and it's my problem, but c'mon are jeans and T-shirts that cover most everything really that hard to manage?  Can't we limit ourselves to T-shirts with suggestive sayings instead of showing actual skin?  Please?

I may start enforcing the lab safety rules even when we're not doing anything that would require that just so that I am not exposed to other people's "private" parts.

[prof_smartypants]

Stupid barefoot running and barefoot lifestyle people: just stop.

I am super grossed out by students coming to class barefoot. And yes, I've checked the university health and building codes, and no, there is nothing in there requiring shoes.

It's just gross.

[sine_nomine]

I am super grossed out by students coming to class barefoot.

+1.  And the men go barefoot into the restroom!  Really?

[polly_mer]

And yes, I've checked the university health and building codes, and no, there is nothing in there requiring shoes.

That surprises me.  I own shoes primarily because so many places require them for health codes. 

[battleunit]

They supposedly treated the faculty with more respect than when they were in mufti (I am not sure what the last word meant but context clues would say "something other than regalia." 

You have a moniker like Battleunit and you don't know what mufti (civilian clothes instead of the uniform) means?  Interesting.

Faculty dress - I wish we could.

Who's stopping you?  Go ahead and wear your regalia.  One of my colleagues frequently wears his white frock coat with tails and top hat over white pants, white frilly shirt, and bowtie to have an effect like Tom Wolfe*10.

My dean at my last college stopped me.  He also forbid kilts, police uniforms and military uniforms, and other "symbols of oppression."

Probably could wear it at my current college, I know one professor does wear a kilt all the time, rumored to be traditional but I have never had the gall to try and figure out if it was true, although the campus can be quite windy at times.

My uniformed service was not with the military and battleunit is from a 1983 short story I authored about growing up autistic, rather than a reference to military service. 

[oldfullprof]

1.  I always set my eyes on "not interested" when I look at young students, so I don't care what they wear.  Sometimes I realize that one of my female students is beautiful, but only on reflection.

2.  I like nudism, and recommend it.  Living in New York, I haven't been to a nude setting in years.

3.  I have quite long hair at the recommendation of Dr. Mrs. OFP.  It's slightly more inconvenient than short.

4.  I loved wearing a military uniform.  Even though I became a hippy and radical later, I still liked it.  The Army wasn't sure it liked me, and this was mutual.  Some of my differences with the military were disappointment at what I saw as others' incompetence.  Immature.  Still, I later got a case and put my military medals and shooting badges in it.

5.  I don't believe in dress codes.  College has nothing to do with business.

[ovedun]

At some Kaplan locations,  students are expected to follow a dress code.

Most students at this particular location did not sound very happy about the new dress code policy.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10009/1026982-298.stm

When I supervised student workers, I told them that I didn't want to see any "cleavage, butts or guts" because I was hiring them to work in a casual, yet professional work environment. I can't imagine making them all wear a uniform, though.

[polly_mer]

They supposedly treated the faculty with more respect than when they were in mufti (I am not sure what the last word meant but context clues would say "something other than regalia." 

You have a moniker like Battleunit and you don't know what mufti (civilian clothes instead of the uniform) means?  Interesting.

Faculty dress - I wish we could.

Who's stopping you?  Go ahead and wear your regalia.  One of my colleagues frequently wears his white frock coat with tails and top hat over white pants, white frilly shirt, and bowtie to have an effect like Tom Wolfe*10.

My dean at my last college stopped me.  He also forbid kilts, police uniforms and military uniforms, and other "symbols of oppression." 

A kilt is a symbol of oppression?  Interesting.  My alma mater tended to have quite a few men in kilts frequently.  We also had women in various states of approved Muslim coverings from just headwraps to full burqas.  We also had a male professor who tended to wear muumuus and more than one male-to-female transsexual who wore fabulous clothes.

I miss that place.

[battleunit]

They supposedly treated the faculty with more respect than when they were in mufti (I am not sure what the last word meant but context clues would say "something other than regalia." 

You have a moniker like Battleunit and you don't know what mufti (civilian clothes instead of the uniform) means?  Interesting.

Faculty dress - I wish we could.

Who's stopping you?  Go ahead and wear your regalia.  One of my colleagues frequently wears his white frock coat with tails and top hat over white pants, white frilly shirt, and bowtie to have an effect like Tom Wolfe*10.

My dean at my last college stopped me.  He also forbid kilts, police uniforms and military uniforms, and other "symbols of oppression." 

A kilt is a symbol of oppression?  Interesting.  My alma mater tended to have quite a few men in kilts frequently.  We also had women in various states of approved Muslim coverings from just headwraps to full burqas.  We also had a male professor who tended to wear muumuus and more than one male-to-female transsexual who wore fabulous clothes.

I miss that place.

That sounds wonderful.

I was in service at the same time as I was at this institution and was legally required to dress in uniform at times (never when I was teaching and only on campus when duty legally required, for example investigating the rape of a student in the dorms).  I used to see the dean on the streets in uniform and he would invariably call me into his office and inform me that I was a 24/7 representative of the university and my demeanor outside the institution was an issue I would have to address.

[bigghostdini_tha_don]

I think students should be encouraged to dress for success, but it shouldn't be an enforced rule.