Uniforms: Do We Want Them?

Uniforms. Simply the word “uniform” seems to have become a controversial topic in of itself, and whether to have them or not has always been a widely debated topic within schools. As someone who has experienced both ways, there seem to be pros and cons to either idea. I have worn a uniform since my first day of kindergarten, and all the way through elementary and middle school until 9th grade when I moved to AISG. It was my first experience of going to a school without a uniform and with almost complete freedom to wear anything to school. I was initially very excited about this, but after a while, the excitement of getting to pick your clothes every day turned into having to pick them.

In both of the schools I attended before AISG, there were specific uniforms for each ‘level’ of school. The last school, which I spent 6 years at, had a specific system of changing the shirt color: The elementary and early childhood school had a light blue shirt, middle school had a green shirt, high school (9-10) had a dark blue shirt, and IB years (11-12) had a white shirt. These were all part of the school colors and getting a new shirt color as you grow older was almost like a rite of passage if you stayed at the school for a long time.

Uniforms are a good idea for a few reasons: they provide students in a school a sense of community and take away some pressure from the already “judgy” minefield of middle and high school especially, as well as evoking a sense of achievement when students get new uniforms as you get older. However, at the same time, they restrict students’ ability to express themselves, are often costly, and all in all, boring.

Personally, I prefer uniforms as they are easier for me, but there are many people who would disagree with me and despise uniforms. I interviewed some high school students who have differing opinions on whether or not we should have uniforms.

For starters, when Brandon L and Sam J were asked for their thoughts on uniforms, they replied with a simple “they [are] ugly.” However, this opinion is quite the opposite of what many others thought. Rachel M and Joanne Y both commented on how “uniforms are cute,” and Mulayne L also agreed with them saying that “if the uniform is cute, it’s alright.” At the same time though, both Rachel and Joanne stated that they don’t prefer uniforms. Rachel said that she doesn’t want uniforms because “[she] loves shopping,” and because “they are uncomfortable, more expensive than normal clothes, and [they make] everyone look the same so [they] can’t express [their own] identity.” She does still acknowledge that uniforms can “make [students] look presentable at all times,” which can perhaps be somewhat lost when students can pick their outfits. Abby P, a no-uniform supporter, even comments that “[she] knows people who would just prefer to come in sweats to school and uniforms don’t really allow that.”

This “presentability of students” and also the clear “uniformity of students” are perhaps some of the main benefits of having uniforms. Both Amanda D and Abby agree that uniforms make everyone look the same. Amanda characterizes this as a positive by saying “everyone is wearing the same thing, and so no one [will] judge your outfit,” while Abby claims this uniformity to be “boring” and explains how “[she doesn’t] want to look the same as everybody else and [she doesn’t] think anyone else does either.” Sophia M and Rachel agree with this point, with Sophia stating that “we can’t express who we are as individuals” and Rachel adding that since “we all look the same, we can’t express our own identity.”

There are clearly positives and negatives to uniforms or picking your own clothes, and Abby and Amanda expand on their reasons. Amanda says that she dislikes picking her own clothes every day because “it’s so hard. I have to choose, and it has to match, and I don’t want to look completely lazy but I also don’t want to put too much effort into it.” She also adds that “[she doesn’t] really like the time that it takes to choose.” On the other hand, Abby comments that “[she prefers] wearing [her] own clothes because it lets [her] dress how [she wants] and gives her variety. [She] can be comfortable if she wants,” and this comfort she speaks of is a key characteristic that most uniforms lack.

Students that have been through both systems often have differing ideas about uniforms, but overall, it seems like many people simply want what they don’t have. Joanne comments that her friends who “wear uniforms complain that they don’t want uniforms,” and that “they want to wear normal clothes because [they] can dress up however [they] want.” But, at the same time, “people who don’t have to wear uniforms complain about deciding ‘what should [they] wear tomorrow’.” Much like Joanne’s friends, I would always complain about how I was forced to wear a uniform, but now that I have this freedom, it is not quite as great as I had imagined it. I guess you always want what you can’t have.