Alex Howard has seen it himself: young men actually preparing to enter the gate at an area high school football game by pulling their pants down to expose their underwear and a bit of what's underneath.
Once inside, some of the young men cause problems with other spectators and simply run from security officers -- knowing there's little the officers can do.
Maybe not for long.
Howard, thankfully, is a member of the Richmond County Board of Education. And when he felt compelled to shepherd his family early out of a recent football game, he knew he'd had enough.
At Howard's urging, the school board Tuesday directed board attorney Pete Fletcher to draw up a proposed rule that would outlaw sagging, underwear-flaunting dress at all school events -- presumably for students and others alike.
Good for them. We support it unreservedly.
It must be said that when city or county governments across the country have considered similar saggy-pants ordinances, this editorial page has been foursquare against them. The reason is simple: It's unconstitutional for governments to try to tell someone how to dress on public streets.
A school district monitoring behavior and dress at school events, however, is an altogether different animal. Our school board not only has the right, but the obligation, to maintain a safe and decent environment on school grounds and at school-sponsored events.
Anyone unwilling to abide by the rules can be shown the gate. And should be.
It's likely the rule may miss the bulk of the football season, since it may not be ready for board action until next month. But it will take in the rest of the school year, and that's better than nothing.
We also appreciate the fact that the school board is supportive of this change without regard to race. Some complain that such rules discriminate against young black males. But Howard, who is white, says the saggy-pants style transcends race. Moreover, fellow board members including Barbara Pulliam and Venus Cain heartily support the proposed anti-sag rule.
This is a matter of decorum at school events. Let your school board know you support them in this overdue effort.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2010 Morris Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
I doubt it will work. It's a young people's style thing. I was in Wal-mart the other day and saw a young black father with two small boys. He was maybe 20, but he appeared to be the perfect dad, along with his wife, taking care of his kids and he had pants that were pulled down a bit. Not as much as some, but definitely drooping. Otherwise, he was clean cut. So it crossed my mind was he setting a good example for his young children with the fashion statement? Would they grow up to wear their pants that way? I thought as I pushed my cart on around the corner past the juices and eggs that it didn't matter how any of them wore their pants. It was more important that he was a good parent and the kids were well taken care of.
I told a young AA male who had his pants below his butt that he should pull them up. After he cussed me out, he called me a racist. What a surprise.
Riverman, you're as sick as he is. Some example, showing your butt in public.
There is nothing wrong with dress codes. They have them at eating establishments and other places like clubs and schools.
The pants below the buttock is an obvious sign of immaturity. I guess it's fine for childhood "shock value", but it's no way to make a positive impression. The fashion fad indicates self esteem and authority problems. Would I hire a person with this fashion challenge? Not if he could be seen by me or any of my customers.
What is the code for school events now? Why not just enforce THAT code and not bother creating a new one? This sounds like grandstanding which will produce little results. So, the standing code don't mention sagging pants, so a new one will be created to ban that which is already not allowed. That could be called creating a bureaucracy. Just enforce the existing codes which is not the real problem: Its the children and their parents.
Stump he said not as low as others, understand there is a difference between baggy and sagging. It is gross with the butt showing, they have their pants under there butts. Anyway about hiring, I have been to many stores and resturants where the worker sag, again gross.
jus sayin, if I should see an employee in any business with the pants sagging enough to expose even the waistband I ask to see the manager and I directly report to the manager that I consider the "fashion statement" to be offensive and it should be prosecuted as indecent exposure. The manager will see to it that the employee complies and corrects the offense immediately. And oh by the way, the offense is being committed by all races---black, white, oriental, latinos, mulattos----and I've reported them all to their supervisors/managers. If I can't find a supervisor, I will advise the offender on my own that no one in society cares to see their nasty drawers, and I will stand there with them until they correct the issue, and yes, I am very capable of taking care of myself.
i'd like to know why the RCBOE is making such a fuss about sagging pants with underwear showing and they don't seem to give a rat's behind about the stripper-type, pole-dancing moves their cheerleaders are doing on the field and courts of their sporting events. or is this because the men on the RCBOE like the stripper and pole dancing moves (feeds into their fantasies, don't you know) but are jealous of the young men who are just being teenagers? as we all once were? i don't understand how showing underwear out of the back of your pants is indecent exposure. i see young girls running around with low cut pants on and their thongs hanging out over the top, next to their tramp stamp, but no one seems to be too offended by this. i see women running around with their boobs half exposed and cleavage yanked up under the chin, and no one says a word. this is the worst sort of double standard. people need to mind their own business. if the kids in school are doing well academically, who cares what they wear?
Someone could be jealous of somebody's pants hanging down their behinds? What? How about it's a way to show gang colors, since they are cracking down on T-shirts and bandannas. And that's why they want it stopped.
"Riverman, you're as sick as he is. Some example, showing your butt in public.
Posted by stumpjumper on Thu Oct 15, 2009 7:05 AM "...
Stumpjumper, maybe so, but in my day it was no socks and not buttoning long sleeve shirt sleeves. I guess before that guys turned their collars up. But how can you enforce such a policy? Do you have some type of device like they use on Dangerous Catch to determine the size of the crabs to measure droopiness? Heck, half the middle age men walk around with drooping pants that look like a Dutch family moved out the back of them. Are we going to kick them out, too?
corgimom: well, yes, i see your point about the gang thing and all, but if they make them stop doing that, they'll just figure a different way to do it, so they may as well let them have at it, at least they'll know who the gang members are and they can keep tabs on them. better that than they do it in secret and no one knows who is up to what. in any case, the rcboe also needs to concern itself with the image and behavior of some of their female population. girls are in gangs, too, and just guess how many ways they could come up with flying their colors.
actually i wasn't trying to imply the rcboe is jealous of the sagging pants, just the young men in them and the general fact that they're young and trying to have fun while the rcboe is never gonna be young again and they know it.
These young men who insist on wearing their pants below their butts give a whole new meaning to the term "crack problem." What the Hell is it supposed to convey..."Hey world, this is how little my self esteem is?"
The "sagging" pants originated in jail and the inmates would purposely sag their pants as a sign that they were 'available' to other inmates for sex. Origin: Prison
Purpose: Ease of sexual gratification by the dominate male over the effeminate male.
Now that is funny.....
Once when I attended a family reunion, I saw a young man who attended with his shorts almost under his bottom. I told my son who spoke to the young man and "encouraged" him not to disrespect his elders in such a manner. Seeing some reluctance in the young man's demeanor, my son (who is about 6 ft tall and a little shy of 200 lbs.), offered to "assist" him with correcting his wardrobe malfunction. Up went the britches and we all had a wonderful family reunion. I believe in limits and boundaries. I also believe that we should make sure that our young people know what they are and the consequences associated with violating these boundaries. And I am more than pleased to be able to say "You're going in the right direction Richmond County. Keep up the good work!"
No, it's to convey that "I am so stupid that I can't even pull my pants up"
OBX, that's an urban myth, an apocryphal rumor probably started by a white guy. Here is some information on the subject. http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=280977
Folks, I work on a college campus. I see butts and boobs hanging out every day of the week. It has nothing to do with immaturity, gangs, lack of respect, promiscuity or lack of self-esteem nor is it race-specifc. These student are fine, intelligent, hard-working and accomplished individuals. If you don't like it, don't stare at it.
SA Spurs, i'm with you. there are numerous dresscode infractions in the schools today. why is it that no other student is allowed to wear short skirts, but the chearleaders can...are they free from the rules. and arent these sagging people wearing underwear? not as though you are really seeing their butts. cleavage, bra strapa, lowrise jeans, highwater pants, shorts...all of it should be banned or frowned upon. there is too big a deal and too much energy focusing on these pants...what about the classroom??????????????????
Riverman my post actually comes from the author of the article to which you are referring...Tutuzdad ? Google Answers Researcher..He also states that the truth is, hip hop's baggy
pants evolved as a subculture trend, and since subcultures aren't particularly documented as they occur inasmuch as they are discussed and studied in retrospect, it seems that the truth regarding this issue will remain a short trail of footprints which have since blown away in the wind.
Every generation has its "uniform." Much ado about nothing.
OBX, agree. But he doesn't say it was a prison code sexual thing. Hey, don't get me wrong, I think the style is pretty foolish, but it's hard to regulate just what is inappropriate. Seriously, you could simply leave it up to the teachers and say all shirt tails should be tucked in and pants up, but at ball games that's probably impossible.
Now that the seasons are changing and the young "men?" will soon be wearing long pants instead of shorts I see this as an opportunity to have a little fun. Simply walk up behind them and accidentaly stand on the cuffs which will be dragging the floor. Then watch the embarrassment when they walk away :-)
I had my CSA colonel's uniform on and I approached a group of these low slung heathens and told them to prop things up a bit. They politely told me to Bleep the Bleep Off, and go sell more of the Crispy chicken because they did not like the broiled variety. I tried to explain that it was healthier for them but they again spewed vulgarities at me, so I thought that my cause was more hopeless than defending Atlanta in 1864. These dang young kids today, what are we to do?
I don't have a problem with sagging draws but I support equal rights and would like the women to do the same.
blah blah blah... let the kids rebel. It is part of being young in America. You did it, I did it, your kids will do it.
I just want to know what the policy will be when a 6 foot four kid refuses to leave the stadium? What is the appropriate removal procedure? I have said it before and I'll say it again, don't make laws you are not prepared to enforce 100 percent. And believe me the stand the RCBOE took the last time an altercation took place between a smart mouth kid and a police officer, the kid won. And the win was probably noticed by the hard working officers whose careers are on the line. So when RCBOE makes a code change, they had better address the appropriate use of force to enforce it.
When I observe individuals wearing those baggy pants and high-riser "shorts", I consider them to be quite ignorant; it is laughable to watch them "walk," because it is more like a waddle. I have also read a few articles where the perpetrator was quickly captured after a robbery because they couldn't run with their pants hanging below the beltline. Women who expose the bottoms of their cheeks are no better. This mode of "dress" is not a statement of style, but one of flaunting the law. Indecent exposure laws do exist; if the wearer of the current mode of dress is exposing too much skin, they should be arrested and fined.
I took my grandchildren into a Dairy Queen about a year ago. The young man working behind the counter had his pants sagging. When I told him to pull up his pants, cinch his belt and wash his hands, he was not polite in his refusal. The answer is easy. I called Dairy Queen International and made a formal complaint. They called the owner, the owner called me, the young man lost his job. I hope saggy pants were worth it. It is a health issue.