The Skinny on Skinnies

Fine, I'll put in my two cents on this whole skinny jeans hoopla.  For those who are not familiar with BYU-Idaho, we have an honor code that we agree to live by when we accept admission to the school.  This includes refraining from alcohol, tobacco and premarital sex, having a curfew, being clean shaven and yes, a dress code.  All students MUST agree to this code before coming here.  This code is not church-wide, it even differs from the honor code at BYU in Provo, UT (brought to fame last year with the BYU basketball team).  This is an honor code specifically for students of BYU-Idaho.

Recently, there have been issues with the dress code.  It's probably the part of the honor code that gets the most crap from students.  Why?  Because clothing is how we identify ourselves.  We follow trends or we rebel from trends.  The colors we wear reflect our mood.  The brand of our clothes shows how wealthy we (or our parents) are.  Our clothing lets the world know that we woke up early and took time to get ready or we just rolled out of bed and barely made it to class in something other than what we slept in.  People get defensive about their clothes and most do not find it amusing when others tell them how to dress.

The thing is, when we came to BYU-Idaho, we agreed to dress a certain way.  We agreed to no shorts, capris or flip-flops on campus.  I'm sorry if flip-flops are the only shoes you own but you need to get some new shoes.  I'm sorry if your definition of a knee length skirt included skirts that come two inches above your knee but you need to get some new skirts.  You don't have money for that?  Then why did you agree to come to a school you have no clothes for?! 

I'm getting off-track (hooray for cracking an admissions joke in the middle of my blog).  Skinny jeans.  Where do they fit in the honor code?  Personally, I don't like skinny jeans.  They don't look good on me and I highly doubt I will ever purchase a pair for myself.  I do not find them particularly attractive but at the same time, I'm not bugged when other people wear them.  The honor code does state that clothing should not be formfitting.  Skinny jeans are one of those articles of clothing that can go either way.  There are jeans that fit your leg and then jeans that suck the life out of your leg.  Another formfitting article would be leggings.  Thick tights, if you ask me.  These are popping up all over campus and I've had enough of them.  They are about the formfitting-est things you can wear. 

Is BYU-Idaho saying that skinny jeans are of the devil?  What about shorts and flip-flops?  NO THEY ARE NOT!!  They are merely saying that skinny jeans do not comply with the honor code as it is laid out.  This means you do not have to repent for wearing skinnies to the store just like you don't have to repent for wearing flip-flops to the beach.  Skinny jeans are not of the devil and they do not induce sexual thoughts (as some of my peers have suggested), they are just not in compliance with the honor code!  Wear them out and about, just not to class.

If you ask me (and no one is, but you're reading this so technically you were looking for my opinion), I'll tell you I'm glad the university is finally doing something about this epidemic sweeping campus.  I don't think the administration really thinks skinny jeans are causing moral problems on campus.  I think they are seeing the students wearing leggings and other non-real-pant articles and then drawing the line at skinny jeans because the students obviously can't think for themselves as to what is appropriate.  The enforcement is in place for those who struggle the most.  Laws are created for the weakest of us and that's what this is.  If girls don't watch their skirt length I would venture to say that in the next few semesters they'll go from knee length to mid calf.

Some people might be taking the skinny jean thing too far and I can definitely see how some people are going to be offended by the new enforcement.  There needs to be some mutual understanding between students and administration at the beginning because it's been accepted up until this point.  I do not agree with stopping skinnies cold turkey because, truth be told, many girls only own skinny jeans.  This should be something the administration makes clear will be fully enforced NEXT semester after everyone has had time to ask for new pants for Christmas.

I have no idea if any of those ideas flowed together at all and I apologize if they didn't.  Basically, I'm glad someone is stepping up and giving some set standards.  Even though we're all raised in the same religion there are different ways to interpret things.  Maybe the girls wearing short skirts never learned where the knee was actually located, or their parents thought it would be funny to switch the word "knee" with "thigh."  Really, that's the only thing I can think of.  The enforcement is needed because if one person can wear leggings than another thinks they can and there's a whole downward spiral.  Side note- same principle with sweatpants on campus and those pants that are not quite pants but a little longer than capris (which are also skinny).

I love BYUI and I have no problem living by the standards I agreed to.  I'm sorry for those students who did not understand what they were getting into when signing the honor code.  Luckily, they're not being kicked out of school or otherwise mocked.  They're getting a nice reminder of what it means to hold up their end of a deal and be obedient. 

In four years you can leave BYU-Idaho and wear whatever the heck you want.  If you can't wait that long then leave.  There are plenty of other students who would give anything to be receiving the education you are and would happily abide all aspects of the honor code.