University students dress codes at Makerere University.
Abstract
This research was mainly carried out to investigate and examine the reasons concerning particular dress codes by Makerere University, and the perceptions and misconceptions individuals come up with to either praise or criticize their dressing code.
The researcher analyzed that the concept of Makerere university students dress code is largely coerced by their peers, most of the students fell for the band wagon effect, they want to look like their friends in terms of dressing, the other major factor is mimicking celebrities who dress according to the new trends in the market for attention effect and fame. It was observed that a number of students dress to fit in the environment. Most of them are actually anxious and excited to figure out new stuff probably because they are now in a free world out of high school rules and restrictions governing their dress code. Some students are
motivated to dress because of the courses they pursue; like the doctors, teachers and lawyers in the training process this kind of students have to reflect their professionalism. The family background plays an important role in determining a student’s dress code, a case in point is a student from a religious family, this student will try depict his/her morality through dress code by dressing up decently regardless of the course he /she is pursing. a case in point are the Moslem students though some of them actually bare Moslem names yet don’t dress as Muslims. Due to weather changes, female students dress in light clothes as tops to enable them regulate the temperatures which is perceived as show of or exposing body parts, since the male 7 have this ideology of a female’s body being seen as attractive, the females are then expected to wear cloths that cover up their body even during sunny periods which is so u just to them. The researcher found out that, the female students suffer the consequences of the dressing
style more then the male students do, the females are believed to hinder male lecturers and students from concentrating in class basically by how they dress. they seem to attract attention from the opposite gender which is way indecency is majorly altered after females and not male students. this creates gender inequality, patriarchy and inferiority. The research methods of data collection involved are interviewing observation and group discussion I interviewed a number of students from different colleges pursuing different courses, observation worked best without making any inquiries at all, this adds on to go students dress, through interviews we get to understand why the dress how they do. I chose the semiotic theory to incorporate my study