Friday, December 3, 2010

Dress Code for Professors

Every time I attend a departmental meeting, something happens to put me in a vile mood. Today, I discovered that the administration of our university is planning to introduce a dress code for faculty and employees. I kid you not, this is actually being discussed. And, of course, nobody is offering us any wardrobe money to buy the clothes that the administration will deem "appropriate."

Apparently, some administrator has been brought here from the corporate environment and now can't wait to turn us into little corporate robots.

When we were discussing burqas and niqabs, people kept insisting that there is some kind of a freedom in clothing choices in this country. Well, apparently nobody informed my administrators about that. There is no doubt in my mind that burqa wearers at our campus will be let in peace, while people in Western clothes will be controlled and persecuted in what concerns their attire?

8 comments:

Pagan Topologist said...

If the dress code requires you to buy clothing you will use for nothing else, the cost is tax deductible, according to friends of mine who have taken advantage of this option.

Clarissa said...

You know, this is really not about money for me. If I were the kind of person who cared at all about money, I'd have never come to this continent in the first place. It's all about the humiliation of being told how to dress by some corporate ignoramus.

eric said...

It looks like these administrators are just thinking of stuff to do to pad their evaluations. What a bunch of losers. It's one step away from calling your students "customers" (something that has already taken place in the library world, but I insist on still calling library users "patrons"). So what happens if you don't comply?

Pagan Topologist said...

Oh, I understand. I just happened to think that you might not know this. I would also be upset at a dress code's being imposed on us.

Pagan Topologist said...

eric, I think not complying is an option only after one has tenure.

Clarissa said...

David: I'm sorry for being snappy! These three-hour-long departmental meetings always bring the animal out in me. There is always one annoying bureaucratic thing after another, and nothing makes me angrier than that.

Eric: dress code is just one of many things they are trying to sneak by us. There hasn't been any discussion of this yet. Nobody has seen the actual papers where this is proposed. So I don't know what penalties will be involved for those who do not comply.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the great blog!

Amanda said...

Pagan Topologist-- if the clothing CAN be used for daily wear, it is not tax deductible, even if it is not something the individual would normally wear.