is white wrong?

It's not arbitrary in all the schools I've ever gone to and worked in. There is always a standard dress code at graduation ceremonies.
It's a tradition of the school.
I don't know where you went to school or what schools you've graduated from, but from highschool, all the way through college and university- law school, medical school - there are standard robes, colors, tassles, mortice boards, etc...that vary from school to school- and the professors, deans and presidents of the universities have their dress codes enforced for the ceremonies too.
Maybe they should all say, '**** it - I'm wearing my bermuda shorts today - I'm an ADULT.
Part of being an adult is learning how to function and adapt to society instead of insisting on your own whims at every turn like a three year old toddler.

I've never seen a graduation ceremony that hasn't had a dress code - that most of the participants seem to be able to accept, cooperate with and follow without suffering permanent emotional damage to their individual psyches.

I'm not sure about the rest of Canada though..

Me, if I was the principal of that school & I was aiming for some sort of "dress code" for the event, I would have suggested any combination of black & white .. for both the girls & the boys ...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Miranda Duran said Cibola High School won’t let her wear a pantsuit to graduation because she can only wear a dress or a suit.

Duran, 18, said that the outfit she wants to wear is formal, but she received a surprising response when she asked school administrators if she could wear it.

“I went in a nice, respectful way asking him, ‘Would (the outfit) be formal? Would it be OK?’ And he said, ‘No, you’re either a girl or a boy. No in between,'” Duran said.

The soon-to-be high school graduate said the administrator told her that she had to either wear a dress or a suit with a tie.

In 18 years, Miranda Duran has never worn a dress, her parents claim.
And she wasn't planning to do so at her graduation next month from Cibola High School.
But school rules say that under her cap and gown, she has to wear either a white dress or dark slacks with a white shirt and tie or she won't be allowed to graduate with her class at the May 17 ceremony at Tingley Coliseum.

Maybe I'm wrong but she can wear pants, they simply need to be black as was described in the dress code.

There is always a standard dress code at graduation ceremonies.
It's a tradition of the school.

... but from highschool, all the way through college and university- law school, medical school - there are standard robes, colors, tassles, mortice boards, etc...that vary from school to school- and the professors, deans and presidents of the universities have their dress codes enforced for the ceremonies too.

I've never seen a graduation ceremony that hasn't had a dress code ...

(I HOPE that my abhorrence of government and of collectivism is being successfully expressed.)

Yes, I've been aware of that for quite some time now -

along with the fact that nobody ever thinks schools can do anything right - or even want to -

in other words people seem to think they're run by assholes
who never have anything approaching positive motives about anything.

The graduation IS about the school - you know?

BULLONEY!!! The graduation is about the Individual students.
A public school is their mere property, like their shoes.

Really - then why don't they have it in the girl's bedroom?
Then she wouldn't have to get dressed at all.

I had to look at that phonetic twice to figure out what sound you wanted me to make David.
Maybe it's a NJ thing but I would say BA-Lone-y not BULL-0-ney.

If you have no respect for the traditions of the institution - don't take part in them. Simple as that.

No; that does not optimally serve their best interests as Individuals,
and toward OTHER Individuals who follow in their footsteps.
The collective is dangerous and we need to take care to subdue it,
like a recalcitrant dog.
That is where the citizens of Russia and Germany went rong last century.

Okay - so is there no institution or tradition in which you take enough
pride or respect enough to follow their rules and dress code?

How about when you were in court? Did you wear a suit?

How about if you'd had to sit on the bench as a judge?
Would you have worn the robe?

And I will tell you, having a daughter this age
and seeing her friends - there is a lot of personal 'it's all about me'
arrogance around this.

Hooray!!! That is how it shoud be
NOT as I quoted Adolf Hitler b4 hereinabove:
"authority from the top down,
obedience from the bottom up."
(Hitler was a collectivist; Individualism was anathema to him and he said so.)

Again, I exhort a consumate rejection of nazi filosofy,
reversing it, and turning it upside down,
in favor of the INDIVIDUAL subduing the collective
and its henchman: government.

aidan wrote:
She probably thinks she'll look better in her facebook pictures if she wears her 'classy' white pantsuit.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion.
The opinion of the school personnel is inferior to hers,
in that thay r merely her employees.

It's not their opinion. It is their policy and tradition. And they are sponsoring the event.

And David - you have no idea what you're saying.
You're a ******* arbiter of rules and enforcing them.

That depends on the legitimacy of the rules; not enuf ******* going on, tho.

You don't think so?

Which ones do u have in mind ?

Look, it's all very well and good to say - 'Oh yeah - people gotta be free.

No one should ever be told what to do and what not to do - especially in those crummy schools.

But where do you think children are first conditioned to accept that
sometimes certain standards of behavior, when it comes to dress,
manners, citizenship, etc. will enable them to function more
smoothly in the world- outside the unique and perhaps misbegotten
behaviors of their family?

It's at school. When the bell rings - you gotta be in your seat.

Just as twenty years later, when the boss says, 'Work starts at 8:00,' you gotta be at your desk.

Maybe they see their moms/dads calling in sick or showing up late for work.
Maybe they'd think that's the way it is for everyone. But then they go to school
and certain disciplines are enforced on everyone.

And they see the efficacy in these standard and traditions so that later,
when the law says, 'You cannot litter,' even though it's easier to throw
something on the ground instead of walking over to the trash can- they're conditioned to cooperate.

I don't think cooperation and adaptivity and yes, taking other's wishes into account is a bad thing.

And why rebel just to rebel?

If her purpose is to look good, as stated, she'd look prettier with her legs showing without the pants.
They look like pajama bottoms.

You're gonna try to tell me that there's no value in respecting tradition and following rules?

That depends on the logical merit of the individual tradition or rule under consideration; e.g., there is no value
in following the traditional rule of adding the letters UGH to the word tho, nor in jabbing Ls into the words woud,
coud nor shoud; there r many other examples,
e.g. fathers deciding whom their daughters shoud marry.
What if YOUR father told u to follow tradition
in letting him choose a husband for u and to follow his rules about that??

David - I'm American, not British and not titled.
My father choosing whom I marry is not a tradition in my culture.
And yeah - if we were talking about a life-altering decision that would have bearing on the rest of my life, I might break with tradition.
But this girl just wants to wear the pants she wants to wear for one hour instead of the pants the school wants her to wear.

Maybe they should throw the whole graduation ceremony out the window. Yeah - let the kids organize, find a place to have it, make all the arrangements, find a space for it, chairs for everyone to sit in, etc....then yeah - they could wear whatever they want.
I think that's a great solution.

That's what I'd say if I were the principal of that school.
Ya'll who want to wear pajama pants - have your own ceremony.

aidan wrote:
And this sort of 'me is most important' attitude spills over into everything.

THANK GOODNESS! That is the natural way to vu things.
Let everyone join in anti-collectivism.

Yes - DIS-organize. Let's see how well the trash gets collected off the streets then!
It's a very romantic idea David. But you might not be happy with the practical applications and results.

aidan wrote:
So, how about deadlines? What if the professor at college says,
'This paper is due so and so' and this girl says,
'Well, I want to hand it in on my own time in my own way- stop trying to control me - as long
as I learn the material don't tell me what to do. Is that alright too?

Yes; ADMIRABLE!!!
That 's good practice for true Americanism.
Its the same as if she hired a tutor who subsequently got uppity n disrespectful of his employer.
She shoud add a disciplinary remark to keep him humble,
embarrass him a little, if he is bossy
e.g.: "I put the socks on your feet, Mister; don 't forget who is paying u."

aidan wrote:
Give me a break. This girl can strip naked and run around the track if she wants to.

Well, if it is public property
and if she is a citizen, then she is entitled.
As long as she does not violate anyone's rights, I see no harm in that.
That is the criterion.

I agree - she needs to learn to take the consequences of her stances.

aidan wrote:
She'll just have to take the consequences.
Let her wear her white pantsuit.
She'll have to take the consequences - maybe they won't let her
participate in the traditional graduation ceremony.

Keepin her OUT
of her own property????
What if someone keeps U out of YOUR own property????

As far as I understand it, it's only my property during school hours.

They're allowing me to take part in a ceremony they're providing me outside of school hours.
They don't have to make their facility available - they are.

aidan wrote:
Oh well...she got to look damn good in her classy white pantsuit.

That actually HAPPENED,
to a girl who was joining the US Army.
She posed in Army fatigues on an M1 Abrams battle tank,
under its 12Omm cannon,
and gave the picture to the Yearbook people.
In revenge, her employees, the administration
of the school kept her out of her graduation,
in furtherance of their zero tolerance anti-gun policy.

Listen - schools are damned if they do and damned if they don't.

Everyone wants everyone elses children to be held to certain standards of behavior,
but they want their own kids to be able to do whatever the hell they want.
It doesn't work that way.

aidan wrote:
And this is not the sort of girl who changed the world for me.
As Ms. Olga states - those women were spending their time and effort on more important things

Nothing is more important than the citizens keeping government in subjection.

When the monster gets loose from his slab in the lab,
Dr. Frankenstein is in trouble, and woe unto the townsfolk.

That's not what this is about. This is about her.

aidan wrote:

I've never seen a graduation ceremony that hasn't had a dress code ...

That's not true where I live, Aidan. My daughter graduated from both high school and university and not one student wore robes, etc. In fact, if she'd wanted to, she could have had her grad photo in a mortice board, but it was optional.

I'm very glad there were girls/young women/women like Ms. Duran 45 years ago. I would not want to have to wear a dress or skirt to school/work everyday.

There is no need today for young women to wear white dresses to any event.

But this dress code is not for what is worn on the outside, it is what is worn underneath