Saturday, October 17, 2009

All-male college cracks down on cross-dressing - CNN.com


All-male college cracks down on cross-dressing - CNN.com: ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- An all-male college in Atlanta, Georgia, has banned the wearing of women's clothes, makeup, high heels and purses as part of a new crackdown on what the institution calls inappropriate attire.

No dress-wearing is part of a larger dress code launched this week that Morehouse College is calling its "Appropriate Attire Policy."

The policy also bans wearing hats in buildings, pajamas in public, do-rags, sagging pants, sunglasses in class and walking barefoot on campus.

However, it is the ban on cross-dressing that has brought national attention to the small historically African-American college.

The dress-wearing ban is aimed at a small part of the private college's 2,700-member student body, said Dr. William Bynum, vice president for Student Services.

"We are talking about five students who are living a gay lifestyle that is leading them to dress a way we do not expect in Morehouse men," he said.

Before the school released the policy, Bynum said, he met with Morehouse Safe Space, the campus' gay organization.

"We talked about it and then they took a vote," he said. "Of the 27 people in the room, only three were against it."

There has been a positive response along with some criticism throughout the campus, he said.