Let me start by saying every Hampton University student whose picture happened to surface on my Twitter timeline during homecoming weekend looked absolutely fabulous. I am not a student at this university. However, I am a concerned university student. After homecoming weekend, a screenshot was posted on Twitter of an email that was received by all Hampton University students from their Vice President for Administrative Services, Dr. Barbara L. Inman. The subject line was “Appropriate Dress, Conduct and Being a Hamptonian.” Clearly, I am unable to speak on what being a Hamptonian means. However, I am able to speak on the obvious respectability politics that are prevalent in this “reminder of conduct.”
I am aware that Hampton University upholds a very high standard of excellence, as any university should. However, where do we draw the line? A school dress code in general not only prevents students from being able to fully express themselves through fashion, but it is also outdated and unnecessary for adults to still have to adhere to. I get it. They knew about the dress code before they got there, but for heaven’s sake, it was homecoming weekend and a little bit more leniency could have been granted to students that wanted to take full advantage of a good time.
The idea that students expressing themselves through fashion will ruin the campus environment is problematic. The entire purpose of being in a campus environment is to learn and to teach. If your learning or your teaching is diverted by someone’s crop top, it might be time to reevaluate the mindset and not the conduct.
Because I am not a student at this university, as previously mentioned, I am unable to speak on what it means to be a Hampton Woman or a Hampton Man. However, “poor judgment” or not, I doubt any Hamptonian student or alumni is supposed to talk down another based on their own opinions, especially on a day where looking your best is important to you. Being in the presence of the great Hamptonians that came before Hampton’s current student body should be a positive experience, not a hypercritical disaster.
Another issue is that administration at Hampton University should be well aware of the extremely high cost of tuition required to attend the school, and if the attire worn that “was probably intended for the night club or beach front” happened to be “on sale in the stores and malls,” then all the more power to you. Who would’ve known that affordable clothing went against anyone’s dress code?
All-in-all, the rhetoric throughout this email screams “respectability politics” and I am unable to support policies that I feel are damaging to students and their self-expression. The idea that a young adult cannot be “a mature, progressive thinking college student” with a little cleavage out during a special event is ridiculous. By the way, why is “professional cleavage” even a topic when the issue at hand is based around an event that wasn’t professional? Anyway, I find it somewhat difficult to understand how showing a small amount of skin is “offensive to the general community.” That sounds a bit excessive to me.
The idea that self-respect is based on a garment of clothing is not only false, but also absurd. An important step towards being a mature young adult is not about covering up parts of your body that everyone already knows exists. It’s about defining what you think about yourself based on your own set of morals and ethics. If society wants to judge you based on your outfit choice, so be it. You probably won’t change their minds, but you’ll never be dethroned as the ruler of your own. So, Hampton University, yes, you did dress for the occasion. Yes, you did take pride in your appearance. Yes, you are still different from the rest. And if no one else sees that, I do. You’re still making your world-wide impact.