The other day, I was eating breakfast in Collis before class when something, or rather someone, caught my eye: a student sitting to my right was still wearing his pajamas. Dressed in flannel pants and a stained white T-shirt, this student looked like he had literally just rolled out of bed. Normally, I try not to judge what others wear. But what this student had on left a lasting impression on me. I remember this student not because he was eating breakfast in pajamas, but because five minutes later, the very same person was sitting next to me in class.
Seeing this student dressed in pajamas reminded me of a recurring problem many colleges have: clothes that students wear to bed or to a party are becoming all too similar -- if not the same --to the clothes they wear to class. In a way, college students who show up to class dressed this way are physically unprepared.
Here at Dartmouth, the problem persists. While the problem may not be as apparent as it is at other colleges, it is nonetheless an issue warranting concern. In general, it appears that some men wear pajamas and some women wear "frat clothes" to class, and vice-versa. Often, we as students are guilty of wearing the same types of clothes to sleep on Massachusetts Row and to class on Dartmouth Row.
But many still do not see the problem. They wonder whether "dressing up" for class is even a worthwhile endeavor. Why dress up for class when the clothes we wear are comfortable and help make us feel unique? In response, I cite three reasons:
First, we must remember that dressing for class is one way in which we can show respect for our professors. Whereas high school teachers can expect variety when it comes to what their students wear, professors come to colleges expecting a reasonable amount of maturity. While this maturity may certainly be intellectual, it goes hand in hand with how we dress. How we present ourselves non-verbally is as important, if not more important, than how we present ourselves with our ideas. I wonder if the student dressed in his or her pajamas was taken seriously by his or her professor.
Second, dressing up prepares us for the future. As an institution of higher learning, Dartmouth is preparing students for life in the real world. Whether it be government or medicine, the College is teaching us how to succeed in any career of our choosing. Classes we take and special lectures we attend are all training and preparing us for how best to appear intellectually presentable. The burden rests on us, however, to appear physically presentable. We certainly would not wear pajamas to interviews with prospective employers -- Dartmouth students know better than that. But dressing up for class on a daily basis does not hurt in helping us develop the right mindset for the work environment here at Dartmouth, and in whatever career we choose after graduation.
Third, dressing up for class allows our ideas to be the focus of our expressions of individuality. You can tell a lot about a man by the clothes he wears. But you can tell a whole lot more about that same man by what he believes in. In the classroom setting, our personality and individuality should be reflected in our thoughts and our ideas, not in how we dress. We must remember that the two or three hours a day we spend in class are also not a time to make a fashion statement. There are no fashion designers creeping the hallways of Silsby looking for potential runway models (those are only the people from Girls Gone Wild).
It is not my belief, however, that Dartmouth or any college for that matter should require a dress code. This problem need not be one that an administration should care about. Rather, we as individual students should self-impose our own personal dress code so that we can individually make a difference. If we dress more respectfully and appear more presentable when we attend class, then we are only helping better prepare ourselves for the future.
