When you grow old and gray and think back to your middle and high school days, one of the first things that pops into mind is probably your school uniform. That is because uniforms are a major part of a student's life. Whether uniforms are a good idea or not has become an age-old issue. People who are in favor of uniforms argue that they help you look neat and clean and encourage students to spend more time on their studies than their appearance. They also argue that uniforms are what make a student look like a student. However, people opposed to wearing uniforms feel that they block one's individuality and standardize students. They also believe uniforms are uncomfortable. In my opinion, I believe uniforms are more than just clothes and feel that it is important to wear them.First of all, uniforms give students a sense of unity and belonging. Imagine you are a student at a seminar for all high school students. You are all alone and just feel like you have come to the wrong place. Then suddenly you see a student wearing the same uniform as you. Immediately you realize that you are not alone because somebody else from your school is also there. Plus, if you are at a school rally and you see everybody wearing the same uniform, you feel that you belong to something. In addition you feel a sense of pride for your school and enjoy that you are part of something so great. Another reason why uniforms are preferable is because middle and high school is probably the only time in your life you get to wear them. I saw a television show once where they took a survey about what part of their life people missed the most. Wearing uniforms and going to middle school and high school was on top of the list. As people grow older they long for the good old days when they wore uniforms and ate lunch with classmates and horsed around in the classroom. One of my college friends even suggested that we wear our old high school uniforms on campus to remember those fun high school years.In the Korean movie, My Bizarre Girlfriend (Korean Title: Yupgigirl), there is a scene where the two main characters go to a night club in their high school uniforms. They dance and have a wonderful time, and the other people love the idea. One owner of a night club liked the scene from the movie so much that he set aside one day of each month and called it "Remembering High School Uniform Day". People would go to the club wearing uniforms for real and reminisce about their school days. They would laugh and talk about how each person wore their uniform according to their style. As you can see uniforms help bring back sweet memories. One of the most important reasons why uniforms are necessary is that they narrow the gap between the rich and the poor. If there were no uniforms then the rich students would be able to show off their money by wearing expensive clothes. By seeing those fancy clothes the not so fortunate students would feel hatred towards the rich students and even towards themselves. They would also feel frustrated and depressed. However, if you wear uniforms all students would have to wear the same thing so there would be no conflict between the rich and the poor. Uniforms can help teach wealthy students not to show off, and they can help poor students build confidence about themselves. Many argue that uniforms cramp a person's style. That may be true, but it is not like students have to wear uniforms all the time so they do have time to build their style. Overall, uniforms have many benefits. They give you a sense of unity, a lot of fun memories, and they also narrow the gap between the rich and the poor. Ordinary clothes, you can wear for the rest of your life, but uniforms are a once in a lifetime thing. Such an opportunity should not be taken away from students. After all, time passed is gone forever.
The writer is a sophomore student in the Dept. of English Lang. & Lit. at DU.