Jackson St. cracking down on conduct, dress

Jackson State University students are expected to behave and dress in a manner that represents the university in a positive way. For the 2008-2009 school term, JSU students are being asked to heed and obey a decorum policy that was first instituted last year.
The policy which focuses on dress, language and keeping the campus litter-free, and encourages students to act in a professional manner while on campus or any university sponsored event.
The decorum policy states, “Conduct which is disorderly, lewd, indecent and or portrayed on the premises of the university or at university sponsored events will not be tolerated.” However, there are conflicting ideas about whether the policy is being strictly enforced.
One campus public safety officer who asked to remain anonymous, said enforcement of other policies has not been strong. “I just don’t know what to do. First they tell us to do one thing, then they tell us to do another. At the beginning of the fall semester of 2007, they told us to give tickets to students who were caught walking around campus without IDs, but that issue has not been strongly enforced this year.”
Most students interviewed said the policy should be enforced, while others feel it is pointless and that they should not be told what to do or what to wear.
“I think for the most part students have been following the policy, but I feel that most students are going to do what they want to do,” said De’ Arbreya Lee, a freshman from Pittsburg, Calif.
Aramis Gentoy, a freshman from Memphis, Tenn., favors the policy. “I don’t feel that the decorum is too strict. I feel that we should go by the rules,” Gentoy said.
Ricky Booker, a junior political science major from Greenwood, Miss., believes that enforcing the policy will be beneficial in the long-run to prepare students in the real world.