The Satanic Panic is back in full swing, baby!
In anticipation of the coming school year, school officials at Charles Middle School in El Paso, Texas, has announced that students will no longer be allowed to wear all black over stated concerns regarding mental health.
Speaking to USA Today, the president of the El Paso Teachers Association, Norma De La Rosa, stated that "Charles Middle School students wear a uniform and one of the school colors is black. They are allowed to wear black. The change was to not allow students to wear completely black from head to toe....The intention is to ensure the physical and mental safety of their students and was initially initiated due to concerns observed by teachers at the end of the last school year."
Banning expression via clothing choices to combat mental health issues may be both retrograde and paradoxical, but it is nothing new. In the late 90's, during the growth in popularity nu metal, emo, and alternative culture in music and fashion, a Michigan school banned students from wearing Korn t-shirts, which culminated in Korn's infamous response in which they distributed their shirts in mass quantities to the kids. A cease and desist order was filed by the band citing discriminatory practices by the school as well.
It should be noted that Charles Middle School has not cited any studies supporting their assertion that wearing all-black clothing has a negative impact on mental health.
Mental health issues and disorder diagnoses have been on the rise among youth for several years. According to the CDC, "In 2021, more than 4 in 10 (42%) students felt persistently sad or hopeless and nearly one-third (29%) experienced poor mental health. In 2021, more than 1 in 5 (22%) students seriously considered attempting suicide and 1 in 10 (10%) attempted suicide." There is no question that depression and other potentially debilitating mental health issues are an epidemic in the United States, but as with Charles Middle School, the reaction from public figures and administrators across professions far too often is to demonize youth's choices regarding their preferences in art and music, especially when it falls outside the mainstream. This has also been true for the gaming community, which has long been vilified as a contributor to mass violent events despite no evidence of causation from any academic studies.
Instead of pointing the finger at darker imagery and clothing choices, perhaps the members of the Charles Middle School faculty and those like them should offer resources to struggling students, rather than putting a limit on how much black can be worn on "Free Dress Day".
