very cute if i say so myself...and i do:)

Hello World!!!

Happy Wednesday! I struggled whether to write about this topic, but since it has been the talk of town in the A since last week I decided to throw my two cents in the bucket as well…

So most black people across the nation have heard of the illustrious black institutions of the Atlanta University Center  (AUC) that have produced some of the nation’s greatest black leaders. It is pretty much one of the crown jewels of this city. Such notables including Dr. Martin Luther King and Maynard Jackson, Atlanta’s first black mayor, attended Morehouse College. Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the Children’s Defense Fund, and Alice Walker, author of “The Color Purple,” attended Spelman College. James Weldon Johnson, author of the Negro national anthem “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and Marva Collins, famed educator, attended Atlanta University and Clark College, respectively,  now known as Clark Atlanta University. And this is just a cursory list for brevity’s sake.

But since last week one of the AUC’s schools, Morehouse College, has not been in the news for its positive contributions to the nation’s brain trust. Rather it has been the news for its new dress code.  According to an article in the “The Atlanta Journal-Constitution” below are the parameters of the new dress code.

The policy details 11 expectations of students, including:

* no caps, do-rags and/or hoods in classrooms, the cafeteria, or other indoor venues

* no sun glasses worn in class or at formal programs

* no jeans at major programs, as well as no sagging pants on campus

* no clothing with derogatory or lewd messages either in words or pictures

* no wearing of clothing usually worn by women (dresses, tops, tunics, purses, pumps, etc.) on the Morehouse campus or at college-sponsored events.

Students that violate the new rules risk academic suspension.

Let me address the issues that have folk up in arms: sagging pants and cross dressing. Here in the A, lawmakers have been grappling with the saggy pants issues for the past couple of years or so. They believe this fashion statement is disrespectful and even promotes a certain thug or criminal mentality.  So this issue is nothing new.

And the other issue is cross dressing….and just for the record I am not looking for this post to be a discussion on gay rights. But apparently, many of the Morehouse College students are dressing in clothing typically associated with women’s attire to class and other campus-associated events.

So since this is my blog, I guess I need to go ahead and state my opinion. I don’t like sagging pants. I have been known to walk up to teenage boys on the street and pull up their pants without their permission. I imagine I have gotten away with this because I’m cute, haha. On one occasion, I asked this dude was his little behind cold as I could practically see it as his pants sagged way under his butt cheeks. And it was cold outside…I know he was cold and there was no way he could deny it. In fact, his boy who was was him had to smile when I told him so. In church on Sunday, one of the speakers offered to buy some belts for Christmas for some of the boys in the congregation who may not have the financial means to buy belts. It was a joke but he wasn’t joking…

Now on to the cross dressing…One of my mottos is “do you.” And I imagine that is what many of these students are thinking when they wear women’s attire on campus. All that aside, is that attire really appropriate in class?  When I was in college, it was hard enough to focus on the instructor and the coursework without any distractions. You cannot tell me that wearing women’s attire to class as a young man is not distracting to the other students. Now, I heard that some of the students believe they should be allowed to wear whatever they want as they are paying for their education. I understand that train of thought up until a certain point. I often missed days in a row of class (sorry mom and dad!) in college using that same principle. I thought since I’m paying for class I can show up when I want to…But at the same time, it would have been arrogant and maybe even delusional for me to assume the professor would give me the same attention as was given to the other students as I clearly did not respect the teacher’s time enough to show up for class.

Aside from those opinions, I also understand what it means to be “young and dumb.” When you are young and dumb, you rarely think of consequences, ramifications and implications…And to some degree, you shouldn’t…The Bible explains this principle perfectly…

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. I Corinthians 13:11

In my 36 years, I have made many a fashion statement being the proudly creative person that I am. I used the above picture because it was one of my fashion statements I guess…More than 10 years ago, I went to this club and saw this dude who looked like a pimp in his white Fedora-style hat and his wide-collared shirt. He was the business as the young folk say now…(I can’t believe I’m saying this ,but hey I am 36.) I thought to myself, “Why don’t I act like I’m one of his hoes?” So I asked this guy, who I didn’t know, if I could stage this pic with him where he was telling me to get his money. Remember that song “$itch Betta Have My Money?” That was the look I was going for…All of my girls who were with me thought I was hilarious and gutsy…It was a very cute picture…Aww, to be young and dumb…

And for the record, if I were 10 or so years younger, I would be rocking a red mohawk…I’m just sayin’. But that time has come and gone…

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven…Ecclesiastes 3:1

Any thoughts?