Published: April 1, 2010

Attending Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) is certainly not a typical college experience. Going to school in the heart of New York City fosters an environment that is considerably different than that of a more traditional college campus. Among the many aspects that make FCLC unique is the manner of dress adopted by the students here. In many colleges, rolling out of bed and heading over to class in your PJs is common practice. We here at FCLC, however, appear to hold ourselves to a higher standard.

Fordham’s slogan is, “New York is my campus. Fordham is my school.” Perhaps by having one of the world’s biggest cities as their campus, Fordham students feel they should sacrifice the right to walk across the quad in slippers, considering their quad is Columbus Circle.

“I have not noticed poorly dressed students in my classes [at FCLC],” said Christiana Sogno, assistant professor of classics. “No one wears PJs to class and very rarely sweats.”

“I think that going to school in Manhattan puts more pressure on students to dress up. Because we don’t really have a campus, I think students find it less acceptable to go out in public in their pajamas, even if it’s just walking to the cafeteria or class,” said Stephanie Chase, FCLC ’13.

“Since we are located in NYC most people are always on-the-go,” said Alejandra Alcala, FCLC ’13. “Students want to be able to go out into the city in between classes, unlike in other college towns where the campus is really all there is, so students have no reason to leave.”

Another possible reason FCLC students are so well dressed is the high percentage of commuters. Since rolling out of bed and walking to class isn’t an option for them, they are forced to put more effort into what they wear to class.

“I feel like the reason the norm of pajamas and sweats is not common practice at Lincoln Center is because half of our student population is made of commuter students,” said Peter Muller, FCLC ’10. “Having to commute to school necessitates dressing up more.”

This result in many students feeling the pressure to dress nicely.

“I think because there is such a high number of commuters that cannot wear pajamas to school everyday and therefore dress well for class, residents feel obligated to get dressed  [up] as well,” said Jackie Bianculli, FCLC ’13.

“There is definitely a pressure to dress well here at FCLC. Because there are so many commuters, the residents here are pressured to dress well,” said Kelechi Urama, FCLC ’13.

“I feel as if I get dirty looks from other students whenever I walk into class in sweats. I do feel a pressure to be showered and dressed appropriately for class, mostly because of how the other students react when I’m not,” said Kimberly Kraft, FCLC ’13.

“Students here are intimidated into dressing nicely. The intimidation comes from living in New York City and seeing such well-dressed people everywhere. You feel obligated to live up to those standards and not be labeled a slob,” said Sophie Stanish, FCLC ’12.

“Everyone else is dressed nicely, so you don’t want to be the bum in sweatpants,” Bianculli said.

Others see getting dressed for class as a personal decision, independent from pressure by other students.

“I dress up for class because I like waking up and getting dressed well; it’s been a part of my daily routine since before college,” Muller said. “I would not judge another student for dressing down for class. I don’t feel like there’s any pressure to dress fashionably other than personal desire.”

“Occasionally I’ve gotten [some] judgment from other students when I have worn PJs to class, but for the most part people seem to dress well because they actually want to look nice,” said Chris Bloom, FCLC ’12. “Personally, I like to look good, so I dress fashionably.”

“I’ve never worn PJs or sweats to class, but that is my decision. I don’t think students should have to dress up for class or feel pressure to do so,” said Dan Drolet, FCLC ’12.

Some students see dressing up as a way of respecting the professor and showing their desire to do better in class.

“There was a girl in one of my classes last semester who wore pink fluffy slippers to class…everyday. I don’t feel that students should feel pressured to dress well for class, but that just seems inappropriate and disrespectful to the professor,” said Kylie Wheeler, FCLC ’13.

“Students who are trying to impress their professors usually try to dress well, and we do notice, even if [it’s] subconsciously,” said Brian Johnson, assistant professor of philosophy.

But both students and professors agree that dressing nicely should be a personal choice, not one forced upon students.

“I don’t believe that the attention a student pays to how they dress is related to academic performance,” said Laura Sandez, adjunct professor of spanish at Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH). “Students don’t perform the same, but that depends on the attention they pay to learning and the value learning holds to them rather than how they dress in class.”

“There are students who [dress] very casually and do well. In fact, I’m slightly jealous of the students who show up in slippers and pajamas fresh from the dorm.  [I see] it as one of the fun things you get to do in college,” added Professor Johnson.

In essence, how a college student dresses for class is all about choice. If you feel like dressing up for class, go for it. If not, most students and professors won’t mind. But let’s leave the bunny slippers at home…