It may be surprising to some who see me nowadays, now that I've gone what a dear friend of ours calls "full wild Alaska," but for many years I was a clean-cut, jacket-and-tie guy. That's still accepted and, indeed, expected business attire in much of the world; like it or not, in many companies, large and small, men and women alike are expected to wear mainstream business attire. For men, that means a jacket and tie.
School and college kids, though, have always seemed to resist dress codes that lean into professionalism. They want to "express their individuality," or some other such horse squeeze. Now, the president of the famous Tuskegee University, in Alabama, is retired Air Force Major General Dr. Mark Brown, and he's not having any of that.
Tuskegee University President Dr. Mark Brown, a retired Air Force major general, is defending the historically Black university’s renewed emphasis on student dress and conduct standards, saying the policy is aimed at preparing students for the workplace rather than policing personal style.
"If you raise the bar, students will reach it," Brown told Fox News Digital in an interview.
"Why don't we raise the bar? That's what I think we ought to do. We're unapologetic about that part."
After issuing a pre-campus arrival memo requiring a business suit and shoes for business-like meetings and professional dress in the classrooms, as well as barring non-religious head coverings, Brown said he saw that evidence of success during the first days of the school year.
Good. This will be the expectations these young people will have to face when they enter the job market; they can "express their individuality" on their own time. Thing is, appearances do matter, especially when one is in front of a prospective employer. In those same corporate years I mentioned, I did a lot of hiring and firing, and participated in many more job interviews. If a young person came in looking like a sad sack, they didn't have much chance.
As for raising the bar, yes, that's always worth doing. Raise the bar, raise expectations, and people are often surprised at how many people can surmount that bar, can meet or even exceed those expectations.
It seems to be working at Tuskegee. Their graduates are finding they have jobs waiting for them upon graduation.
Brown pointed to the school’s recent employment numbers as evidence that its approach is producing results. He said roughly 70% of students who graduated in May already had jobs lined up.
"Seven out of every 10," Brown said. "That is the challenge. That’s what we should be debating."
Now, there has been some pushback, as one might expect. For example, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) is apparently a student rights advocacy group, and it is apparently concerned with the dress code's prohibition of durags and clothing associated with black culture. FIRE is claiming that Tuskegee can't "promise students freedom of expression." Fine, fine; just as when they are in, you know, a job, which is the purpose of the whole educational process, they won't be able to have unfettered "freedom of expression" in the workplace, either. Nor should they. They can express themselves freely on their own time.
Dr. Brown is correct in his goal; he is working towards that one primary goal of the educational process, producing young adults with marketable skills. Among those skills should be the ability, the knowledge, and yes, the discipline to present themselves professionally. Dr. Brown gets that. More university presidents could profit from his example.
Editor's Note: President Trump is fighting to ensure America's kids get the education they deserve.
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