I’m writing in regard to the latest controversy over the graduation gowns for the Schreiber Class of 2016. Honestly, when I see how ridiculous political correctness has become, I’m disgusted. The fact that all students are being made to wear the same color gowns lest one or two transgender students are offended is absurd.
Whilst the stated goal of such a policy is to prevent a select group of students from being offended, it does so in a poorly thought-out manner. Did the school district consider that maybe those students and/or families that follow normative gender roles would be offended by such a measure? Or what of the girls in the graduating class who have seen older sisters graduate in a white gown and are now being told they can’t dress the same as their siblings? Did the school district ever think those individuals might be offended or that they’re prioritizing one student group over another?
Political correctness has gotten out of hand. I see it on my college campus and now I see it in my hometown. Really? We’re making everyone act a certain way in case a minority group gets insulted? The simple reality is everyone is bound to get insulted in life, and we can’t insulate these children from that reality. By doing so we’re developing an unhealthy precedent about limiting freedom of expression, which is supposed to blossom in teenagers and be a hallmark of the college experience that our grads will soon be stepping into. We can’t force the majority of people to think or act in a certain way lest they insult the select few. They will be insulted in life, and should be taught that nobody is going to bend over backwards to coddle them moving forward.
On a more pragmatic note, why should graduation gown color even be an issue? If a student really does question their gender identity, just give them and all other students the choice of what gown to wear. The argument against this is that a student in transition is already stressed out, and shouldn’t have the added burden of making this choice. To my knowledge, there are no students “in transition” in the graduating class. And even if there were, I’m pretty sure picking the color of their gown is the least of their concerns at this point. Call me intolerant, but personally I think this should really be a nonissue. School administrators and numerous teachers are getting six figures while there are far more productive uses of that money. We’re not even ranked in the top 100 school districts in the country and instead of wondering exactly how our tax dollars are spent, we’re busy worrying about what color graduation gowns are. Give everyone a choice if you’re that concerned and call it a day—there are far more important things for us to be worrying about.
—Joshua Friedman
