Morehouse College Dress Code Gets Reactions

Morehouse College dress code

Reactions continue to pour in about the new Appropriate Attire Policy established as the Morehouse College dress code.

The policy is derived from the views of Morehouse President Dr. Robert M. Franklin, that the Morehouse Man has an obligation to be “well read, well spoken, well traveled, well dressed and well balanced.”

In an article for the Philadelphia Tribune, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania alumni, Michael Coard had this to say about the Morehouse College dress code:

“It’s a great thing that there is a dress code at Morehouse. However, I wish it were not necessary. I wish the young Black men and women were practical enough to realize that appearance counts for everything.”

Why a Morehouse College Dress Code?

Coard went on to say that people are gauged by personal appearance and so the Morehouse College dress code is necessary as college graduates transition into the workplace.

“We are taught by our parents that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but in the real world that’s exactly what people do. The only thing that they can see is the cover,” he said. “You can’t get to the pages of the book until you get past the cover. And if the cover looks like a piece of trash, you’ll never get to the diamonds beneath that trash.”

Others had a different view of the Morehouse College dress code.  Read the article Morehouse Dress Code is More About Homophobia Than Decorum where the writer cites the ban on women's dress at the all-male college as potentially problematic.

Attire on college campuses is not just an HBCU issue. It is an issue with many college students in general.  The times are changing and it would behoove any college administrator to gather all the voices in discussions on subjects like this, where establishing a policy could disenfranchise others.

At stake here though, argues the President of Morehouse College and others, is an erosion of the Morehouse brand.  In a competitive job marketplace, students at all HBCU's should be thinking about how to take control of their university's brand as well as their own personal brand.

For this college, the Morehouse Man brand could be seen as critical to their legacy.