Dress code in the 60s and 70s

The generational culture clash of the late 1960s and early 1970s took place in many arenas and encompassed many issues. No battles were perhaps as personal as the debate over school dress codes. Parents and administrators sought order in keeping standards about attire and appearance clear and defined; students, meanwhile, chafed at rules believed infringed on their rights to express themselves or simply remain fashionable.

Your second essay for this class will focus on these debates. In order to complete it, you will need to do the following:

1. Read the essay, “Flaunting the Freak Flag: Karr v. Schmidt and the Great Hair Debate in American High Schools, 1965-1975,” by Gael Graham. (The link is available in Blackboard)
2. Read the following primary sources (all linked in Blackboard):
   1. Dress Code of Perryville, Arkansas, school district
   2. “Take Off Your Clothes” editorial
   3. Letters to editor regarding El Paso school district dress code
3. Imagine yourself in the position of one of the following people assessing the Perryville dress code
   1. A high school junior (male or female; white, black, or Latino) who supports a stringent dress code
   2. A high school junior (male or female; white, black, or Latino) who is opposed to the dress code
   3. A school administrator who supports the dress code
   4. A parent (male or female; white, black, or Latino) who supports the dress code
   5. A parent (male or female; white, black, or Latino) who opposes the dress code
4. Write a 500-600-word letter to the editor outlining your position. Use specific evidence from the dress code and indicate why you support/oppose it.

All students are to bring hard copies of their essays to their respective discussion sections. They are also to submit an electronic copy to Turnitin (in Blackboard) before coming to class.

 

Do not include a title page. There is also no need for a bibliography or citations.