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Texas School Thinks It Can Solve Student Mental Health Issues By Banning Black Clothing

from the put-'em-in-khakis-and-make-them-middle-management dept

I, for one, would welcome an opportunity for the inmates to run the asylum. It can’t possibly be any stupider than this bit of news, which emanates from what I consider to be my hometown (I spent 15 formative years living here, beginning at age 5), El Paso, Texas.

An El Paso middle school is banning students from wearing all-black clothing due to it being associated with mental health issues.

A letter sent to parents by Charles Middle School principal Nick DeSantis stated that the clothing is “associated with depression and mental health issues.”

Do tell, Mr. DeSantis, who I (hopefully!) assume is not related to Florida governor Ron DeSantis. Notably, neither the school’s official statement nor its new clothing policy cite any experts in the field of mental health. The principal (and a follow-up statement from the city’s Teachers Association) just threw w this out as the sort of indisputable fact no one can argue with, right up there with “water = wet” and “Texas is big.”

According to the follow-up statement, the clothing policy forbids students at this school from wearing both black bottoms and black tops. Fortunately (I guess?), this statement doesn’t claim to be backed by actual research or mental health professionals. It simply says that this particular combination is forbidden, with the only exception being PE class, where presumably no one with mental health issues might be influenced by the black-on-black clothing scheme they wear or is worn by others.

That alone undercuts the assertion made by the principal in the opening quote. If it’s a problem in every other class, it would make sense to assume it’s equally problematic in PE.

But that doesn’t make the Teachers Assocation’s statement any less stupid. President Norma De La Rosa is apparently equally convinced dressing in black is bad for students, whether or not they have any cognizable or diagnosed mental health issues.

According to De La Rosa, the reason for the policy is that teachers see a sudden change in students going from dressing with color to all black, when they are depressed or stressed.

Would this “sudden change” be the color of the clothing? Because that’s what this statement immediately suggests. Or would it be (far more probably) that educators and administrators experience a sudden change in their personal perception of students who choose to wear black clothing because they’re the same sort of people who decided anyone in a trenchcoat was a violent killer after the Columbine school shooting?

I’m going to bet on the latter. The normies think all-black is bad because they’d never consider it to be an acceptable outfit for themselves.

But black clothing isn’t a sign of mental health issues or depression or stress. Some people may think black clothing is associated with depression because black clothing is the norm at funerals. But as anyone but the people quoted above can tell you, grief is not the same thing as depression. And I don’t even know where the fuck these administrators got the idea that wearing black is a sign of stress.

On the contrary, there are plenty of reasons schools should allow students, perhaps especially those they think have “mental health issues,” to dress in black. First off, if you think someone has mental health issues, the worst thing you can do is force them out of their comfort zone by demanding they dress in something more cheerful — perhaps a brightly-colored tee like this one offered by Engrish.com:

Is that the point of this pointless clothing restriction? Black = bad and everything else is OK?

Second, black has always been a power color when it comes to clothing. Darker colors are slimming, which is why some people opt to wear black. Black is empowering, which is why some people who may have self-esteem issues feel more confident while wearing a color that generally isn’t associated with the shiny, happy people who don’t experience the same problems they do.

And let’s not forget the Oakland Raiders — the first team to embrace a color scheme that heavily favored black. It wasn’t just the madmen roaming the defensive backfield that struck fear in the hearts of their opponents. It was also the inherent badassness of turning a color most people don’t consider a color into an easily recognizable representation of the team’s swaggering field presence that paid homage to the pirates of the open seas that inspired its logo. (It also created a voracious fanbase that contributed to the intimidation factor.) Thanks to the Raiders, plenty of other sports teams have gravitated towards more black-focused uniforms, recognizing the inherent intimidation factor of the color, which makes those wearing it more fearless, while simultaneously making those wearing “lighter” colors appear far less imposing.

Black is magic. It’s the best magic. It can give people who need a bit more confidence the boost in confidence they need. Plus, there’s really no reason to alienate fans of The Cure. They’re alienated enough already, even while singing along in a crowded stadium with 50,000 other fans to songs each fan individually believes only speaks to them. (Full disclosure: I am a fan of The Cure and plenty of actual goth bands on top of that. I even paid good money to subject myself to an underwhelming Bauhaus reunion concert around the turn of this century.)

So, there are many good reasons to allow students to wear black, especially those who might suffer from mental health issues or any of the other anxieties that accompany attending public schools. If this school really cared about these students, it would not have enacted this policy.

The additional justification of this stupid policy change only makes things. The statement sent to KFOX14 contains this sentence:

This decision, carefully considered and approved by the Campus Improvement Team—comprising parents, faculty, staff, and community stakeholders—aims to foster a positive self-image among students and more effectively showcase the school’s colors and pride.

Great. It apparently consulted all the “community stakeholders.” But nowhere does it say the school consulted any actual mental health care professionals, who likely would have strongly cautioned against forcing every student — no matter their own personal issues — bend a (not-clad-in-black-anymore) knee to the school’s “colors and pride.”

Also, the “stakeholders” weren’t all the parents, apparently. Plenty of parents are complaining about the new policy, which suggests the only “stakeholders” that mattered were those that agreed to this stillborn mandate that says some black is good, but all black is bad.

If you want more stupidity, you’ve got it, courtesy of the school’s uniform policy, which demands students wear only school colors, ONE OF WHICH IS BLACK.

Bottoms: Khakis or blue jeans. No rips, tears, distressing, cargo pockets, extra pockets, or hidden pockets. Bottoms must be worn at the waist and length must be at the fingertips or beyond when the arm is fully extended.

Tops: Hunter green or black polo with a collar in a plain style or with a Charles logo.

Sweaters: Hunter green or black crew neck sweatshirts in a plain style or with a Charles logo. No pockets. No hoods.

What the fuck. Black is cool and good when the administrators decide that it represents school spirit by only covering half of a student’s body. But it’s suddenly a “bad” color when it spreads to their legs. This is some old-school dumbfuckery and anyone complaining about it is absolutely in the right, even without citing mental health experts the school couldn’t be bothered to consult before issuing this mandate.

So, what happens now? Well, some of it is already happening. Parents are complaining. And if enough parents complain, it may force reconsideration. Students are, of course, welcome to disobey this policy, but possibly at the expense of their education. Since it only governs what students wear, it’s almost impossible to challenge it in court. It only covers the color of clothing, rather than any messages that might be written on that clothing, which means it probably won’t be considered a First Amendment issue.

Shaming the school is probably the best option. That’s what’s happening here. Hopefully, the school will be forced to explain its decision in greater detail. And when that happens, the administration will be exposed. It’s clear no mental health professionals were consulted. This is just the collective brain fart of a bunch of people who had bad experiences with people (and perhaps not even students!) wearing mostly black clothing. This is some seriously stupid shit and no parent, student, or taxpayer should be willing to put up with it.

Finally, I’m leaving you with this, a track that celebrates not only “head to toe, I’m dressed in black,” but a blues pioneer, roughly in that order:

Filed Under: charles middle school, el paso, mental health, nick desantis, students rights, texas