Petition Against School Uniforms at Topsail Middle School

We do not approve of mandated uniforms in our school, Topsail Middle School. Students and parents should have the freedom to choose how they would like to dress within responsible standards. The school should not dictate to us how we should spend our hard earned money.

Some of the other issues with this policy are listed below, but are not limited to:

Individualism

This teaches kids that they need to be like everyone else and it
suppresses the individualism and the self-expression that this country
was founded on.

Financial Burden

This is the equivalent of a new regressive tax on the poor. The people
with the least amount of money are hurt the worst. Government officials
are telling you how to spend your hard earned money.

False Sense of Security

Uniforms can easily be identified and duplicated. School staff can be
lulled into a false sense of security and some one with ill-intentions
could easily slip on to campus.

The Gang Myth

If gangs really existed in our schools, uniforms would actually make
it harder to identify and monitor them.

Added Disciplinary Issues

Teachers in Pender County Schools say that it actually causes more
issues because of the stringency of the policies. Kids spend time in
suspension more because of uniform violations than without.

Personal Responsibility

This policy says that neither the parents nor the kids are personally
responsible enough to see that proper dress is adhered to. The school
system has to dictate your responsibility.

Fairness and Reality

Everyone is not created financially equal and it is up to you to change
your situation. It does a disservice to teach kids that we should all
have the same standard of living. You have to work for what you want.

Hiding Weapons in Clothes
This video says all you need to know about this argument.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmjVWGvI0Bw

Corruption

This opens the door to the possibility that a school official can be
manipulated by financial gain from commercial interests. Your school
uniform purchases could be used to put money in people's pockets.