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| The Storm e-magazine of Louisburg College students |
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
I want you to take a journey with me into your
imagination. You are on the way to your first
class of the day, heading up the stairwell in
Taft. You still have that new song in your
head—in fact, you just bought it off of
iTunes. It’s been a good morning. You turn
to go up the last flight of steps and that’s
when it happens. You lift your eyes and
there it is. Butt-crack. Right in front of your
face. We’ve all been there, staring at the
jeans pulled down to the knees, and to top it
all off, the person’s boxers are giving them
an obvious wedgie.
But for some strange reason, instead of
rejoicing when the school says ‘enough’ to
the offensive dressing, the student body as a
whole has been in an uproar about actually
wearing their clothes.
So what are some of the real objections to
the dress code? At the student forum, these
were the main concerns raised, followed by
the reasons you are officially stupid to stand
by them.
My right to freedom of expression is
being violated. Riiiight. This is a private
institution. If the faculty decided to institute
uniforms, that would be totally within their
right! But the new dress code is not even
CLOSE to uniforms. The biggest point made
in the new dress code is that pants need to
be pulled up. If sagging is the most
important part of self-expression, then it’s
time to find more of a ‘self’ to express. More
importantly, college is about learning material
and becoming a well-rounded person. It is
not about fashion statements.
This is just like High School. Perhaps if
the student body wasn’t acting and dressing
like high schoolers, the College wouldn’t
have to spell out appropriate attire and
behavior. Whether or not you came to
college to party or study, the College’s
function is still the same: to prepare
individuals for careers and a fulfilling life.
Any professional environment has a far more
demanding dress code, and they will expect
you to dress accordingly, even without
spelling out the details. If a generation of
students can’t even dress themselves
appropriately in the more laid-back
educational environment, how could a
college, in good conscious, send out these
students with degrees saying they are ready
to be professional?
I would have never applied to this
school having known there would be a
dress code in my second year. All new
students are aware of the new dress code
policy. The website talks about it. The new
handbook states it. The tours announce it.
At this past Saturday’s open house,
prospective students were informed about
the new Chapel, smoking and dress code
policies, and to be honest, they were far
more mature in their reactions than any
group of current Louisburg College students
has been so far. If these new policies drive
away any current or potential students, that
means that education is not their top priority.
Their top priority is looking like a little punk
teenager, and I say, take your punk self
somewhere else, please! Grow up. If you
think that pulling up the pants is too much to
ask, I don’t want your under-achieving self to
define me as a fellow student. It’s that simple.
imagination. You are on the way to your first
class of the day, heading up the stairwell in
Taft. You still have that new song in your
head—in fact, you just bought it off of
iTunes. It’s been a good morning. You turn
to go up the last flight of steps and that’s
when it happens. You lift your eyes and
there it is. Butt-crack. Right in front of your
face. We’ve all been there, staring at the
jeans pulled down to the knees, and to top it
all off, the person’s boxers are giving them
an obvious wedgie.
But for some strange reason, instead of
rejoicing when the school says ‘enough’ to
the offensive dressing, the student body as a
whole has been in an uproar about actually
wearing their clothes.
So what are some of the real objections to
the dress code? At the student forum, these
were the main concerns raised, followed by
the reasons you are officially stupid to stand
by them.
My right to freedom of expression is
being violated. Riiiight. This is a private
institution. If the faculty decided to institute
uniforms, that would be totally within their
right! But the new dress code is not even
CLOSE to uniforms. The biggest point made
in the new dress code is that pants need to
be pulled up. If sagging is the most
important part of self-expression, then it’s
time to find more of a ‘self’ to express. More
importantly, college is about learning material
and becoming a well-rounded person. It is
not about fashion statements.
This is just like High School. Perhaps if
the student body wasn’t acting and dressing
like high schoolers, the College wouldn’t
have to spell out appropriate attire and
behavior. Whether or not you came to
college to party or study, the College’s
function is still the same: to prepare
individuals for careers and a fulfilling life.
Any professional environment has a far more
demanding dress code, and they will expect
you to dress accordingly, even without
spelling out the details. If a generation of
students can’t even dress themselves
appropriately in the more laid-back
educational environment, how could a
college, in good conscious, send out these
students with degrees saying they are ready
to be professional?
I would have never applied to this
school having known there would be a
dress code in my second year. All new
students are aware of the new dress code
policy. The website talks about it. The new
handbook states it. The tours announce it.
At this past Saturday’s open house,
prospective students were informed about
the new Chapel, smoking and dress code
policies, and to be honest, they were far
more mature in their reactions than any
group of current Louisburg College students
has been so far. If these new policies drive
away any current or potential students, that
means that education is not their top priority.
Their top priority is looking like a little punk
teenager, and I say, take your punk self
somewhere else, please! Grow up. If you
think that pulling up the pants is too much to
ask, I don’t want your under-achieving self to
define me as a fellow student. It’s that simple.
Examining the Dress Code
by Aleks Yadusky
by Aleks Yadusky
It is rumored that next year our Louisburg
College campus will be subject to following of
a new dress code enforcement based on the
so-called issue surrounding
appropriateness. But I, myself, am
investigating the question of what is and
what is not appropriate; and furthermore who
has the overriding authority to approve what
fashions may or may not be allowed on
campus.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am a firm believer
that persons my own age or older should not
be made fools by wearing shorts that cut
halfway into their “back cheeks” or wearing
shirts disclaiming obscenities that could lead
to offending somebody else. But for the
majority of’ students on this campus whom
are used to wearing the fashion of their
distinctive culture, have not amounted to the
result of anyone being offended by what he
or she wears. I mean, who rode in on a silver
back horse to decide that, yes, Dockers and
Polo shirts are more than acceptable, than
Roca Wear or Baby Phat. College is
supposed to be an institution open for
students of all types of diversities, and
furthermore, this is the only period of time
between high school, whereas we followed
strict parental guidelines as well dress codes
and the work place, where for the rest of our
natural born days, we will become subject to
a disposable everyday uniform to wear to our
job. In my opinion, college should be a place
where younger students can find
themselves, and be given the opportunity to
grow outside of themselves and decide on
their own what is going to lead to their
maturity. For I am sure, as you already know,
there are many students on campus that do
dress to a professional extent, when showing
up for class, but that is of their own choice.
Everybody at this institution is at a different
level of their life. Including myself, who is
working on developing an internship for my
future career of being an artist, so my
wardrobe partially demands that I own
fashionable pin striped suits, and skirt
uniforms to prepare for interviews and
leading class lectures, or presenting
interviews, or such. But honestly, I feel most
comfortable in oversized men jeans with
frays and holes previously worn into them as
well as fitting shirts that will most likely show
their share of skin. It has nothing to do with a
representation of the level of disrespect I
would like to receive, but everything with me
being who I am and living in a country that
supposedly will not define me on the means
of what 1 wear, but what I choose to do in the
clothes that I wear.
What would you say to Lil’ Wayne or Plies in
“hood” clothes, baggy jeans, and fitted caps
showing up to an AIDS prevention
programming where they donate half a
million dollars to the care and treatment to
those whom suffer from it; as opposed to a
serial killer whom buys all his clothes solely
from the Banana Republic. It was proved that
such a killer as Ted Bundy was indeed one
of those men, whom dressed himself
properly and was a sociopath by description
and turned out to be responsible for the
terrible demise of over thirty innocent women
plus. See the point there?
All I am saying is I do not want a definition of
what is appropriate to wear in my youth!
college days, because I do not want a lousy
definition of whom I am under the skin
because of what is reflected off the clothes
that I adorn it with. I am a well put together
female who holds as much respect as I do a
paintbrush during art finals. Even if my
clothes are torn and ripped up, I am not. If
my shirts fit a little tight, that is saying
nothing about who I am; I am a laid back and
loose person. If you catch me with messy
hair and goofy-looking pajamas on the
outside, you should no less prepare yourself
for the alert and professional woman that lies
within.
College campus will be subject to following of
a new dress code enforcement based on the
so-called issue surrounding
appropriateness. But I, myself, am
investigating the question of what is and
what is not appropriate; and furthermore who
has the overriding authority to approve what
fashions may or may not be allowed on
campus.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am a firm believer
that persons my own age or older should not
be made fools by wearing shorts that cut
halfway into their “back cheeks” or wearing
shirts disclaiming obscenities that could lead
to offending somebody else. But for the
majority of’ students on this campus whom
are used to wearing the fashion of their
distinctive culture, have not amounted to the
result of anyone being offended by what he
or she wears. I mean, who rode in on a silver
back horse to decide that, yes, Dockers and
Polo shirts are more than acceptable, than
Roca Wear or Baby Phat. College is
supposed to be an institution open for
students of all types of diversities, and
furthermore, this is the only period of time
between high school, whereas we followed
strict parental guidelines as well dress codes
and the work place, where for the rest of our
natural born days, we will become subject to
a disposable everyday uniform to wear to our
job. In my opinion, college should be a place
where younger students can find
themselves, and be given the opportunity to
grow outside of themselves and decide on
their own what is going to lead to their
maturity. For I am sure, as you already know,
there are many students on campus that do
dress to a professional extent, when showing
up for class, but that is of their own choice.
Everybody at this institution is at a different
level of their life. Including myself, who is
working on developing an internship for my
future career of being an artist, so my
wardrobe partially demands that I own
fashionable pin striped suits, and skirt
uniforms to prepare for interviews and
leading class lectures, or presenting
interviews, or such. But honestly, I feel most
comfortable in oversized men jeans with
frays and holes previously worn into them as
well as fitting shirts that will most likely show
their share of skin. It has nothing to do with a
representation of the level of disrespect I
would like to receive, but everything with me
being who I am and living in a country that
supposedly will not define me on the means
of what 1 wear, but what I choose to do in the
clothes that I wear.
What would you say to Lil’ Wayne or Plies in
“hood” clothes, baggy jeans, and fitted caps
showing up to an AIDS prevention
programming where they donate half a
million dollars to the care and treatment to
those whom suffer from it; as opposed to a
serial killer whom buys all his clothes solely
from the Banana Republic. It was proved that
such a killer as Ted Bundy was indeed one
of those men, whom dressed himself
properly and was a sociopath by description
and turned out to be responsible for the
terrible demise of over thirty innocent women
plus. See the point there?
All I am saying is I do not want a definition of
what is appropriate to wear in my youth!
college days, because I do not want a lousy
definition of whom I am under the skin
because of what is reflected off the clothes
that I adorn it with. I am a well put together
female who holds as much respect as I do a
paintbrush during art finals. Even if my
clothes are torn and ripped up, I am not. If
my shirts fit a little tight, that is saying
nothing about who I am; I am a laid back and
loose person. If you catch me with messy
hair and goofy-looking pajamas on the
outside, you should no less prepare yourself
for the alert and professional woman that lies
within.
What Ought To Wear
by Kressilean Antoinette
by Kressilean Antoinette
ADDRESSING THE ISSUES
One of Louisburg’s new policies for next year is the “Smoke Free campus”. This is one that
many have a hard time swallowing. The thought of not being about to light one up is quiet
frightening to many students. This is easy to understand, considering the fact that smoking is an
addiction.
I, a non-smoker, thought it unfair to expect this out of students, especially those who are heavy
smokers. Quitting is no easy task, I can imagine; hard when it is their own choice and even
harder when it is one that is forced upon them. I also thought it a bit extreme. Why should the
school tell students that are old enough to legally purchase cigarettes, not to? But I did my
research and this is no new concept. We know that restaurants and other businesses have
done the same over the past few years, and many college campuses have followed their lead.
The whole idea is to not only protect those who do not smoke and can be harmed or annoyed by
it, but also just to stomp it out all together. Yes, the government is trying to put the tobacco
companies out. If people of college age don’t smoke now, then they are less likely to smoke
later. The same concept is applied in our high schools; even if students are old enough, they
can’t smoke.
The school isn’t planning to leave its smokers hanging, though, so don’t worry. While it will be
taking your smokes, it will be helping you say goodbye as well. The school will be offering the
NC quit now program. This includes a hotline that smokers may call to talk to trained tobacco
quitting specialists. The hotline is open from eight in the morning to midnight any day of the
week. A specialist can not only talk you through the hurdles of cessation, but if you need further
help, he can give you information of doctors in your area that can help you to get you free or
discounted quitting products like the gum or patches. The organization’s website also offers a
number of helpful hints for those tossing tobacco aside.
While at first it might seem to be an extreme new policy, when you think about it, why complain?
It is no secret that smoking is horrible for you, and studies say that 82% of all smokers wish they
could quit. That means that many who might complain about this, should remember: it can only
help you.
| Ashes to Ashes by Brittany Rasberry |