or objectionable clothing, and pressure on students to wear designer clothing or expensive sneakers.
In 1996, President Clinton stated that "Quality education is critical to America's future and the future of our children and families" (Clinton 368). He argued that it becomes difficult, if not impossible to educate children in an unsafe environment where guns, violence, and drugs are prevalent. Thus, in order to educate children, it is first necessary to "do everything possible to ensure that schools provide a safe and secure environment where the values of discipline, hard work and study, responsibility, and respect can thrive and be passed on to our children" (Clinton 368).
He then links this idea to the issue of school uniforms and cites the primary reason why school districts are using school uniforms as a solution to a problem. By creating a uniform policy, Clinton believes that no more will "students resort to violence and theft simply to obtain designer clothes or fancy sneakers" (Clinton 368). In addition, uniforms will eliminate the possiblity for students to wear clothes "bearing special colors or insignias... used to identify gang membership or instill fear among students and teachers alike" (Clinton 368). He cites several instances of districts that have instituted a policy of school uniforms and that have also reduced instances of violence and crime as a result. He points to the Long Beach, California school district which brought about a substantial decrease in student drug cases, sex offenses, assault and battery cases, and fights by instituting school uniforms, noting that the learning environment was thus improved as teachers could focus more on education and less on discipline. He also points to other schools in Baltimore, Cincinnati, Dayton, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Memphis, Milwaukee, Nashville, New Orleans, Phoenix, Seattle, and St. Louis which ha
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