The Morehouse Dress Code Is Nothing New

I started my academic career in the history department at Morehouse College teaching there from 2000 to 2003. I had a notorious reputation because I had a dress code to address my disdain at looking at a student’s underwear as their baggy pants fell off. I started putting a dress code on my course syllabi after passing a dance club in Atlanta with one clearly stated at the entrance of a club. I figured if Morehouse students could not get into a club to get their groove on without following a dress code, than why should my class room have a lower standard? The code went something like this: “Dress for success, students are required to wear slacks or khakis, a shirt with a collar, belt, and dress shoes. No jeans, sneakers, T shirts, hoodies, doorags and or hats.” I read the dress code at the start of each semester. Some complained, dropped my class and tried to get around it. However, as my teaching skills improved and my reputation for being a good but tough prof spread, I attracted serious students who filled my classes each semester. Students recommended my classes to others and the dress code worked. But there were critics both among the students and faculty. I believed it worked because the students in my classes understood my rational and that I cared about them and their future. For more on this story see: http://www.allhiphop.com/stories/news/archive/2009/10/25/21997091.aspx
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