Rules were made to be broken....
Well, well. Someone is paying attention to the dress code. According to the SJVC dress code for business students, this is what you are supposed to wear: Burgundy polo, black or khaki dress pants, brown or black shoes. Women’s shoes should be dressy with no more than a two inch heel. Your nametag should be worn at all times while on campus. Shirts should be tucked-in. Clothes should be in good repair. Men should be clean shaven (moustache and goatee are OK). One ring per finger. Earrings should be unobtrusive. Men can wear earrings, small studs only; no hoops. Men should wear an undershirt; white or black only. Black or brown sox.
Here’s a list of things that are not acceptable: tennis shoes, jackets with logos, shirts untucked (again w/ the untucked!), pants any other color than black or khaki, girls Capri dress pants, “stripper” heels, large or gaudy earrings, wearing sweatshirts or sweaters under your uniform shirt, hats or any type of head covering, nose, lip, eyebrow piercings, more than one set of earrings on the ears. Yep, lots of rules.
Why do we set such high standards? Why would we make your life so miserable? In a word: perception. People will judge you based on how you look. Remember my “bank” story? I was treated two different ways by the same bank teller, because of how I was dressed. Is it right? Is it fair? Not even close. But, that’s how it is. Our goal is to prepare you for success. If you feel the need to rebel against the dress code, you will feel the need to rebel against other things as well. I’ve seen it a million times. I had a student a couple of years ago that refused to tuck in his shirt. Every day he would walk into class and I would have to tell him to tuck in his shirt. After a couple of weeks, he’d walk in, I’d give him the “stink eye” and he’d walk right back out and tuck in his shirt. When he graduated, he asked me if I’d be a reference for a job. I told him that I wouldn’t because I couldn’t trust him to follow the rules and be a good representative of the college. He got mad but then he realized that I was right: all that time bucking the system had cost him a good reference and the possibility of a good job.
I look at people’s attitudes and how they respond to authority. If someone does what they’re told, does it without question and does a good job; that’s the person that I’ll help. That’s the person who probably doesn’t need my help! That person understands that life can be unfair, so play by the rules and you’ll succeed. Remember: rules are there for a reason. You don’t have to know what that reason is, just understand that someone put it into place for a reason; and that reason will most likely benefit you personally. So…tuck in those shirts!
Here’s a list of things that are not acceptable: tennis shoes, jackets with logos, shirts untucked (again w/ the untucked!), pants any other color than black or khaki, girls Capri dress pants, “stripper” heels, large or gaudy earrings, wearing sweatshirts or sweaters under your uniform shirt, hats or any type of head covering, nose, lip, eyebrow piercings, more than one set of earrings on the ears. Yep, lots of rules.
Why do we set such high standards? Why would we make your life so miserable? In a word: perception. People will judge you based on how you look. Remember my “bank” story? I was treated two different ways by the same bank teller, because of how I was dressed. Is it right? Is it fair? Not even close. But, that’s how it is. Our goal is to prepare you for success. If you feel the need to rebel against the dress code, you will feel the need to rebel against other things as well. I’ve seen it a million times. I had a student a couple of years ago that refused to tuck in his shirt. Every day he would walk into class and I would have to tell him to tuck in his shirt. After a couple of weeks, he’d walk in, I’d give him the “stink eye” and he’d walk right back out and tuck in his shirt. When he graduated, he asked me if I’d be a reference for a job. I told him that I wouldn’t because I couldn’t trust him to follow the rules and be a good representative of the college. He got mad but then he realized that I was right: all that time bucking the system had cost him a good reference and the possibility of a good job.
I look at people’s attitudes and how they respond to authority. If someone does what they’re told, does it without question and does a good job; that’s the person that I’ll help. That’s the person who probably doesn’t need my help! That person understands that life can be unfair, so play by the rules and you’ll succeed. Remember: rules are there for a reason. You don’t have to know what that reason is, just understand that someone put it into place for a reason; and that reason will most likely benefit you personally. So…tuck in those shirts!