By Chad Neilson
The students at BYU may feel restricted on what they wear, but in BYU”s Reserve Officers” Training Corps, one”s dress and grooming is an exact science.
“It is very exacting,” said Kenneth Johnson, Sergeant First Class of the BYU ROTC. “It leaves little room for argument.”
To the outsider, the ROTC”s requirements may seem a little staunch.
Cadets may only wear one ring per hand; female cadets cannot wear earrings with fatigues. All boots and ornamental brass must be constantly polished. Uniforms are not to be worn on BYU campus to non-ROTC classes without permission, according the BYU Army ROTC Cadets Handbook.
The list goes on and on. There are ten extremely detailed instructions on how to wear Battle Dress Uniforms alone, not including the other three uniforms used by the ROTC, according to the handbook.
Why is everything spelled out for the cadets? According to the handbook, “It represents symbols of the honor, tradition and achievements soldiers of the United States Army and is more than just clothing.”
Cadet Diana Jenkins, 22, a BYU graduate from Walla Walla, who majored in Nursing, said these rules are the way it is done in the whole army.
Johnson agrees with the army code and believes it helps the cadets in the long run.
“A lot of folks look at uniformity as oppression; I believe in the opposite,” Johnson said. “It allows us to spend more time focusing on studies.”
The BYU Honor code and the ROTC”s dress code have similar desired affects.
According to the BYU Honor Code, modesty and cleanliness are important values that reflect personal dignity, through which students, staff and faculty represent the principles and standards of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The ROTC handbook encourages cadets to a comparable standard. Sharp appearance and proper conduct of cadets in uniform are indications of self-respect, pride in their unit, loyalty to the university, fellow cadets and the United states Army.
Although the ROTC”s dress code is more detailed then the Honor Code”s, both try to meet the same end.
“Most of what we do is a sign of respect,” Johnson said.
