Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, September 11, 1995 TAG: 9509120007
SECTION: NEWSFUN PAGE: NF-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: NANCY GLEINER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Would my parents buy me those new shoes I absolutely have to have and would I have to help pay for them, even though they cost more than six months' allowance?
The ``big'' kids, the fifth-graders, at Herman L. Horn Elementary School in Vinton, say they think it's cool to wear T-shirts and jeans to school, or jumpers, or No Fear shirts, or dresses or polo shirts. Almost anything.
Of course, shoes are the really important item, especially for boys. Having the right brand or your favorite sports star's name on your shoes is worth every penny of the lots and lots of dollars the shoes cost - to you, anyway.
Hot shoes this year are Air Speed Trainers, Deon Sanders' shoe, for only $124, and Chris Webber's Nike Air Max CW for $140.
But, wait. Around Thanksgiving, just in time for all those fancy holiday parties, Nike's new Michael Jordan shoe will be in the stores. They're partly patent leather - you know, that black shiny stuff that scuffs easily and then gets finger marks everywhere when you try to clean them off. Jordan actually played basketball in them - until he was fined. Too flashy, the refs told him. But one-color patent leather is OK for the NBA court.
Some school districts are talking about enforcing dress codes, and some areas already have them.
Krista Posey of Herman L. Horn says she thinks schools shouldn't tell kids what to wear, but it's OK to tell them what they can't wear - crop tops or short shorts or T-shirts with cuss words on them.
And body piercing is out!
Michael Goyer says he agrees that schools should not allow pupils to wear jewelry that might be dangerous, such as spike collars or chains.
Matthew Houff doesn't like the idea of uniforms, though. ``Everybody's different, so they should look different.''
by CNB