Girls! Stay away from Forever 21!
That's what we in the journalism business call anattention-grabbing lead. It makes you want to keep reading. Ihope.
Anyway, I have nothing against the aforementioned store, butsomebody out there does. In case you are unaware, Forever 21 is atrendy mall store that specializes in clothes for women -- most ofthem being pink. The clothes are pink, not the females who shopthere.
If you are an average person, you are OK with that so far. Butif you are an administrator at Merrillville schools, you just had aconniption fit.
Administrators at the school system recently banned -- wait forit -- the color pink.
Pink.
That's right. No pink clothes. No pink accessories. Not ongirls. Not on boys.
According to an Associated Press report, officials are concernedthe color has become associated with gang activity. Now, I canceledmy subscription to Modern Gangsta Magazine a few years ago, but I'mpretty sure the only gang that dons pink as its primary color isthe Elle Woods Fan Club.
Merrillville schools definitely had a blonde moment in this one.In fact, officials have no basis for their assumptions other thanfear of new trends. Read this.
"There is no evidence of gang activity, but because of thegrowing use of the color pink, we decided to be proactive," MichaelBerta, associate superintendent of the district said. "Not onlywere there more kids wearing pink T-shirts and pink hats, but alsopink shoelaces, which was unusual."
Go ahead. Read that again if you want. And laugh.
Pink, in case you didn't know, is this year's (insert lastyear's hot color here).
The Associated Press reported that Northwest Indiana retailersare peddling pink like it's going out of style. Er, I mean, goingin style. One Schereville retailer said one-third of her new itemsthis year are pink.
Most fashionable gang ever.
Since when does a school board ban clothes that are stylish? Notsince Slap Wrap Bracelets have we seen such a travesty.
I have a better idea. How about the schools start banningclothes that make 12- and 13-year-old girls look like they arecollege freshmen heading to Marsh Street on the first weekend ofschool.
I don't want to sound like an old codger (I just turned 21), butin my day junior-high girls at least showed some class when theydressed up like hoochie mamas.
I saw a girl in Wal-Mart recently who probably couldn't havegotten into a PG-13 movie without a parent. She was wearing a shirtthat said, "My boyfriend thinks he's the first."
I hope that meant the first to hold her hand at recess.
My adolescent daughter is not going to wear skirts and shirtsthat make her look like Yvette from the movie "Clue." She is notgoing to wear sexually explicit T-shirts. She is not, for thatmatter, going to wear trucker hats.
But by God, she can wear all the pink she wants.
Later on. I've got to go call Modern Gangsta.
Write to Jay at jdkenworthy@bsu.edu
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