Leaning Toward the Spartans And Away From the Athenians

By Harold Howe II

President Clinton has come out for uniforms in public schools. I admire President Clinton. I will surely vote for him. But I can't help wondering whether it's a good idea to have our president beating the drum for putting uniforms on 45 million kids. I am certainly going to find out what companies make such items and buy some stock in them.

Bill Clinton is adroit at covering his tail. He didn't directly support uniforms. Instead he said, "If student uniforms can help deter school violence, promote discipline, and foster a better learning environment, then we should offer our strong support to the schools and parents that try them." As the saying goes, that's a big "if."

According to Education Week, the president "ordered the Department of Education to distribute manuals [six pages long] to 15,000 school districts in the United States" to tell them how to "usher in legal and usable programs." (See Education Week, March 6, 1996.) Although it had never occurred to me before that there might be a uniform that is illegal, on second thought I realize that uniforms can come in many shapes and colors--bikinis, for example, or those made by cutting up the American flag; and what about that Confederate flag or an embroidered prayer? Clearly there are large issues that will offer new opportunities for eager lawyers, as the new garb, presumably required by the local school district, works...