Writing Feature Articles - Step 1 - Lesson 1

Experienced Writing Feature Articles - Lesson Writing Feature Articles - Handout . a Name: ________________________________________ Date: ___________________ . a: Feature Articles Packet (page of ) “Fashion Police” continued can't legislate how people dress, but you can legislate when people begin to become indecent by exposing their body parts.'' While some communities are trying to crack down on what they see as indecency, school districts have become more aggressive in enforcing dress codes, as the courts have given them greater latitude in this area. Schools have placed restrictions on miniskirts, long hair, piercings, logos with drug references, and gang-related clothing, including hats, jewelry, and particular colors. Public outrage at particular fashions is nothing new—especially when the fashions are popular among young people. In the past, there have been outcries against fashions when they "challenge the conservative morality of a society," says Andrew Bolton, the curator at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Lurking behind the sagging-jeans laws in Louisiana and the various proposals for similar measures elsewhere may be the real issue—hip-hop style itself, which critics say is worn as a badge of delinquency, with its distinctive walk conveying thuggish swa gger and a disrespect for authority. Sagging pants began in prison, where oversize uniforms were issued without belts to prevent suicide and their use as weapons. The style spread through rappers and music videos, from the ghetto to the suburbs and around the world. Some see the recent sagging prohibitions as racially motivated, because those who wear the style are young, predominantly black men. "We think this is part of a national trend that is criminalizing youth, and speci?cally African American male youth," says Standly of the A.C.L.U. "The 'In' Thing" Ironically, much of this legislation has been proposed by black public of?cials. In Atlanta, for example, Councilman C. T. Martin is the force behind the proposed ban. "Little children see it and want to adopt it, thinking it's the 'in' thing," Martin told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I didn't want young people thinking that half-dressing is the way to go. I want them to think about their future." But Benjamin Chavis, the former executive director of the N.A.A.C.P., says, "I think to criminalize how a person wears their clothing is more offensive than what the remedy is trying to do." Chavis, who is often pictured in an impeccable suit among the baggy out?ts of the hip-hop elite, is a chairman of the Hip Hop Summit Action Network, a coalition he founded with the music mogul Russell Simmons. He says the coalition will challenge the ordinances in court. "The focus should be on cleaning up the social conditions that the sagging pants come out of," says Chavis. "That they wear their pants the way they do is a statement of the reality that they're struggling with on a day-to-day basis." Koppel, Nikko. (October 1, 2007). “Fashion Police.” Scholastic Upfront. http://teacher.scholastic.com/ scholasticnews/indepth/upfront/features/index.asp?article=f100107_Jeans Permission pending © 2010, Teaching Matters, Inc. www.teachingmatters.org Page 273

Writing Feature Articles - Step 1 - Lesson 1 | Page 51