COMMENTARY:

Morehouse College has it all wrong again.

In what administrators call an effort to uphold the private, all-male university's legacy and reputation, they recently approved a new “Appropriate Attire Policy.” Among typical clothing standards, the policy goes on to state, “No wearing of clothing associated with women’s garb (dresses, tops, tunics, purses, pumps, etc.) on the Morehouse campus or at College-sponsored events.”

Since its inception in 1867, Morehouse College has been a safe learning environment for African-American men, touting a long history of notable achievements and leaders. However, the campus has been plagued with ongoing reports of bias and bigotry when it comes to gay, bisexual, and transgender issues. In 2002, the college witnessed a brutal hate crime in which a Morehouse student sustained a fractured skull at the hands of a classmate. The attacker repeatedly beat his victim on the head with a baseball bat for allegedly glancing at him in the shower. As he was being beaten with the bat, the victim recalled his attacker yelling, "Faggot, you’re gay, gay … I hate these Morehouse faggots.”

For the record, I am all for a dress code when it is meant to create an even playing field among students who may not be able to afford new clothes or designer labels. But the college of Martin Luther King Jr. is not being guided by the principle of social justice and equality among students.