School uniforms have appeared in schools all over the United States, including some in Schuylkill County, so will Pine Grove Area do the same? “It’s not a conversation piece right now in the School District”, says Mr. Janicelli, Principal. “Our student body is very cooperative with the dress code, so uniforms aren’t necessary at this point. For example, if we were looking for someone wearing a maroon hoodie and jeans, there might only be a few people wearing the same thing. However if we were looking for someone wearing a blue shirt and khakis, there could be 500 kids wearing the same thing.” 

Students at the high school have the same opinion for the most part. Chaz Wolfe, freshman says, “I just think they are unnecessary, we should be able to wear what we want.” Most students agree with him, but Caleb Lambert, freshman, had a similar but different opinion. “It depends on what the uniform would be. If it would be just jeans and a tee shirt I wouldn’t mind, but there’s no way I would wear a suit and tie everyday,” Lambert says. Most students think wearing what they want is part of their First Amendment right to express themselves, But Mr. Barra, a Social Studies teacher, says otherwise. “The courts have never ruled clothing as a form of expression, so it does not relate to freedom of speech.” 

My personal opinion is that uniforms are bad. I really don’t think uniforms have a place in the modern school setting. The main reason I see them as unnecessary is because it would be harder to identify one single student in a crowd based off of their clothing. The United States is built on diversity, and what we wear is part of what makes each of us different. So for those reasons, I believe school uniforms are very unnecessary in the modern education system.