Goth style is out at Wichita milddle school

[Khephra]

snip..........

Principal Cherie Crain announced last week that the black lipstick, eye shadow, nail polish and hair dye of the so-called Goth style, can't be combined with all-black clothing anymore.

Crain said the students dressing in so-called Goth style had become a distraction, and some younger students were intimidated. She also said she has had a rule banning clothing or accessories that define a group of students in the Wilbur rule book for at least 15 years.

"Anything disruptive to school is a no-no, too," Crain said. "And this is definitely a disruption."

In this case, the accessories like studded metal bracelets, the black makeup and graphic T-shirts advertising heavy metal bands are the biggest concern, Crain said.

In past years, only two or three kids among Wilbur's 1,000 students dressed Goth, and Crain said she let that slide. But when school started last week, about a dozen kids had adopted the Goth look.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/9540181.htm

[lazarus]

1. Those aren't goths

They're smiling.

[Khephra]

2. They're Perky Goths

Look it up. They really do exist. I know that one for a fact. I used to have them hang all over me when I was a Masquerade Ref.

BTW, look closely. That's a photo-shopped picture of the Olsen Twins, I do believe.

Heya Laz! :hi:

[lazarus]

7. You're right

That is the Olsen twins.

Perky Goths? Great Set, that's a bizarre and unsettling concept. What next? Sauve gamers?

Howdy, Kef! :hi:

On edit: What freakin' Clan would Perky Goths purport to belong to? I don't recall a perky Clan at all.

I'm trying to conceive of a perky Tremere or Brujah, and it just doesn't work. Like trying to think of a round cube.

Or were they just Clanless groupies?

[Khephra]

9. It may just be my taste for the Goth style

But I think the look really improves whichever sister that is. She should go for that look in real life, imo. At least I'd be able to tell which one is which then. Maybe the other one could go for the Hippie look?

:evilgrin:

[Khephra]

10. A lot of them played Malkavians.

They were often the girls you'd see with teddy bears. Weird group, but they fit in just fine.

[lazarus]

14. weird is right

Kindred with teddy bears?

I'd just go play Magic some more. :evilgrin:

Ah, the good old days.

[sui generis]

3. so . . . nobody gets to wear chess club t-shirts?

that defines a group of students. What about letter jackets? How about accessorizing with a trumpet or violin to indicate that you're in band or orchestra?

she's on a crusade.

[Khephra]

4. Letter jackets were my first thought too.

Then the second one was: a dozen students out of 1000 and it's a problem?

[ET Awful]

5. Hehehe, I bet that policy makes football games really exciting :)

Can't define a group of students, so that means they'd all be in street clothes. . . must get pretty confusing on the field eh? :)

[truthspeaker]

6. disruptive my ass

What a maroon.

[name not needed]

8. This is just dumb

I could imagine if they did this at my school. Out of 2200 people, they'd have to send home at least 100 people. And I'd likely get the ACLU on their ass if I was sent home for wearing black pants and a metallica shirt.

[David__77]

11. Ridiculous. I was "gothic."

If someone was intimidated, they need to get a life. Some people are "intimidated" by football players. Should they be forced to dress geeky and act demure. The police actions are stupid.

[Guy Fawkes]

12. So, if everyone from one grade wears the same thing for a day...

would Crain's head explode?

[supernova]

13. My high school colors were Black and Orange

so this policy wouldn't work at all! }(

[Cheswick2.0]

15. Where did you go to school

Halloween High?

[supernova]

22. Yes, sort of. Hee

Orange High School

http://ohsw3.ohs.orange.k12.nc.us/ohs1.htm

[Ithuilwen]

32. Actually, my high school's colors are black and orange

and our mascot is a witch. At least it's original!

[name not needed]

16. Mine are black, red and gray.

[lapfog_1]

17. So I wonder how she feels about the Dell commercial?

You know, the one with the Goth chick and the cheerleader?
The new roommates that find common ground because they both
use Dell notebooks.

Anyway, seems to me that once Goth has been co-opted by
advertisers, no self respecting high school student would
WANT to be associated as a main stream "goth". Hasn't this
been around now for, what, 15 or 20 years? That would have
been like me in high school dressing up as a "greaser".

[TheSuaveOne]

19. I don't know...

Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing public schools require uniforms. Sure it won't let students "express themselves" but maybe they should spend more time worrying about their grades than what they should wear to school tomorrow...la

[lapfog_1]

20. You are free to your opinion of course

but I think uniforms are simply the start of a process of
conformity, breaking the will and imposing a "state" view
on young people. That's why the military has uniforms. It
doesn't encourage free thinking or curiosity. And waaay to
much emphasis is place on grades, not on learning.

[TheSuaveOne]

21. I would like...

...to see more time put into learning as well. I agree, I think too much time is being spent on standardized testing. As far as uniforms, maybe instead of uniforms a stricter form or dress code could be used. I went to a Catholic high school and although we didn't have uniforms, we couldn't wear jeans, and boys had to wear buttoned up shirts. I guess it was the early days of business casual...la

[Khephra]

23. Part of the thing is...sort of like Hippie culture

Is that there's a natural philosophy behind Goth that converged into a fad/trend/whathaveyou. There's Fashion Goths and then there are what I call Born Goths. There's always been people who are "into" death, wearing black, horror, dark poetry, and there always will be. Usually with Goth (like Hippie culture) you start out doing all that stuff on your own and then discover--wow--there's other people just like me!

Yeah, there are people who "become" Goth, but you can tell a born-goth apart from a born-again Goth pretty easily.

[supernova]

24. I've always been interested

in the Darker side. It's much more interesting and illuminating to me about the human condition.

Oddly I don't wear a lot of black or get the whole look down. I prefer brighter fabrics to provide an antidote to my sedate personality. :crazy:

[Khephra]

25. That's why for some it's just a fashion and not a inner philosophy

It's the interest in the darker side of life that makes you a Born Goth. Some of the most Gothic people I've ever known dressed like Hippies.

[Chovexani]

38. The fashion may have been co-opted

But for many Goths, it's about more than just fashion, it's a lifestyle. Every so often the Goth look becomes fashionable in mainstream society, and just as quickly it goes out of style.

To me fashion is .1% of why I'm a Goth--I don't dress this way 24/7/365--the romanticism of the literature and music resonates with me, I have always had a dark sense of humor, etc. It's just something I've always identified with, even if I didn't always have a name for it.

Yeah, it really irks me to see the look co-opted by muggles, especially when it inevitably goes out of style and some muggle asks me why I'm dressed "so last season", but ultimately it doesn't faze me because I believe Goth to be a state of mind that the mainstream has a very shallow view of and will never understand, therefore they'll never entirely co-opt it.

Just my 2 cents.

[Book Lover]

18. One more reason to homeschool

My list just continutes to grow and grow...

[telamachus]

26. But isn't

Home schooling for right wing christian fanactics?

[Book Lover]

29. Um, no

I suggest you reassess your assumptions. Homeschooling is for those families with the will and resources to direct their child's education directly, whether it is by hiring tutors, teaching your kids yourself, or creating an alternate school collective with other like-minded folks.

[telamachus]

30. Sorry

I forgot the sarcasm!

Our family has been home educating (some curriculum mostly not lots of activities with others) for over two years now (10 and 13 girls) (dad stays home) It is hard when most in our area are of th echristian seperatist HS variety. Do you home school?

ps excellent response! I have seen a good deal of anti HS/HE crap on DU.

[Book Lover]

31. My apologies

Emoticons and sarcasm tags should be required here in the Lounge, I sometimes think :-)

Since my child is only 21 months, I can't say that we're "formally" homeschooling him but that is certainly our plan once he reaches "school age." We live in a pretty enlightened district (actually, I think the district formed an "If you can't beat 'em..." strategy) where the local district provides supplies (mostly printed materials) and tutoring for the comparatively large number of homeschooling families in the district. Here in California, as you may know, you have to set up your own school and have credentials in order for the paperwork to process correctly.

And yes, I am truly grateful that we live around the hippies who homeschool, not the fundies. Long live the Bay Area!

[HEyHEY]

27. For fuck sake either go with a complete dress/uniforms code or don't

[sus]

28. Kansas is lame.

they should all be wearing uniforms anyway.

[DS1]

33. The solution to this is obvious. White lipstick, black makeup

:7

[Dukkha]

34. wow. 12 out of 1,000...how disruptive

Stupid Christians!
:spank:

[TheSuaveOne]

35. I finally figured out...

...why those girls looked familiar. ITS THE OLSEN TWINS...LOL...la

[Chovexani]

36. Muggles strike again

:eyes:

A lot of schools banned Goth fashion in the wake of the Columbine shootings...remember all the anti-Goth hysteria that stirred up. I was in HS at the time and got sent home for wearing the same kind of clothes I'd been wearing since freshman year without incident. I'd never gotten into trouble before, either, suddenly my appearance was a problem. This happened to a bunch of other Goths I knew at other schools. And this is New York, a subcultural center. Go fig.

"Ban clothing or accessories that define a group of students", hmm? I seriously doubt they're banning A&F, baseball caps and varsity jackets. But that's because jocks are accepted members of society and Goths are just androgynous freaks. :eyes:

It's pretty funny anyway, most of those kids are probably Hot Topic brats anyway, who are just dressing in black because Goth is the "it" thing at the moment. They'll go back to wearing Gap clothes within 2 months. These things go in cycles. The few kids for whom it's about more than fashion will grumble about it for a while, and then go back to their Poppy Z. Brite novels. It's what we did. :P

[TheSuaveOne]

37. I would...

...probably have been a goth had I been born a few years later...I still miss my mohawk from time to time...la

[Chovexani]

39. Mohawks are cool.

A really good friend of mine had the coolest mohawk...every week it was dyed a different color and when she was feeling especially festive she used to do a rainbow thing with it.

Sometimes I feel like weirdos are an endangered species. I used to work in the East Village a few years ago (punk/goth/counter-culture central in NY). I was walking around St. Marks the other day and didn't even recognize the place...the yuppies have sanitized it for our protection. :(