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Journalism of Courage
EARLY THIS week, students of St Xavier’s College, Dhobi Talao, were disappointed to see a notice at the college entrance banning ripped or torn jeans on campus. Ripped jeans have now been added to the list of clothes that includes sleeveless clothes and shorts not allowed on campus.
While the latest addition has left many students flabbergasted, Xavier’s is not the sole college in the city to impose a dress code on students. At Wilson College, Girgaum, the rule to not wear sleeveless and shorts applies to BMM students only, even though other department students are allowed to do so.
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“It doesn’t make sense. Why is the rule applicable to students of one department?” asked a second-year BMM student from Wilson. A student of St Xavier’s, who was stopped by the security guard for wearing torn jeans, said the restriction was unreasonable.
While to students these restrictions appear unreasonable, the college administrations claim the restrictions are intended to maintain the decorum in institutes. “We don’t allow sleeveless and short clothes on campus. Recently, we added ripped jeans to the list,” said Agnelo Menezes, principal of St Xavier’s. He said that apart from sometimes being vulgar, the ripped jeans also make a mockery of the poor.
While the dress code is applicable to both genders, in some cases girl students also face restrictions on timings. Girl students of Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute, Matunga, are asked to leave campus after 7 pm.
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“Girls are asked to vacate campus at 7 pm and they don’t have access to a library or labs on campus,” said a fourth-year engineering student.
According to students, the restrictions increase during fests. For example, at Wilson, students — both boys and girls — are supposed to vacate campus after 6 pm. However, during fests, boys are allowed to stay till midnight while girls are asked to leave early.
The VJTI student said the institute doesn’t allow concerts during festivals too. “There is a ban on Valentine’s Day, Rose Day and Friendship Day celebrations,” said the student.
