By Shree Ann Mathavan

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UNDERGRADUATES we spoke to from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the National University of Singapore (NUS) on Friday sang the same tune when asked about their choice of attire.

We don't dress sexily, they said. Even though they were clad in mini-skirts, shorts, tube tops and strappy tank tops that bared legs and shoulders.

Instead, the preferred term was 'average' when it came to describing their dressing.

Dressing sexily may be subjective, but flashing too much skin in school can land one in trouble - as students in one private school recently found out.

The Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS), a private school, started enforcing its stringent dress code from last month.

The list of banned items include singlets, low-cut tops, shorts and mini-skirts.

Other items frowned upon include slippers, dyed hair, facial piercings and visible tattoos.

And the school certainly means business.

It was reported that students who flout the rules repeatedly could face suspension, as well as expulsion.

The New Paper visited both NUS and NTU on Friday as both institutions have dress codes, which advise students against wearing shorts, singlets, slippers and clothing with rude slogans.

But generally, these aren't strictly enforced.

Our visit showed many a student clad in short shorts and skimpy tops - dressing that might easily land them in trouble if they had been in MDIS.

Take, for instance, Miss Goh Chui Ting, 21, a third-year psychology student in NUS. She was clad in a green tube top and white shorts.

Miss Goh thinks tertiary students should have the autonomy to wear what they want. She said: 'The move (in MDIS) brings the students back to secondary school days, instead of letting them assume more personal responsibility.

'It's making the assumption that students can't make a decision on how they dress.'

Own identity

While the undergraduate counts shorts, dresses and strappy tops as daily wear, she does not let comments that she reveals too much skin get to her.

Miss Goh said: 'I have a friend who tells me to cover up more, but I see it as a way of reinforcing my own identity.

'I may push the boundaries, but I make sure the parts that are supposed to be covered up, are.'

Besides, as she pointed out, she has never been told that she dresses inappropriately by the school.

While Miss Goh staunchly supports having the freedom to dress as you please, she feels that dress codes - as long as they are not overly restrictive - can serve a purpose.

She said: 'Dress codes can be good because they serve as a deterrent so that people don't get too carried away in their dressing.'

Her friends, Miss Stefanie Tang and Miss Jolene Ong, both 19 and first-year arts students at NUS, share the same sentiment.

The undergraduates, who regularly dress in tank tops and shorts, think their dressing is appropriate for school.

Miss Ong, who was clad in a tube top and white shorts, said: 'We dress like this most of the time, because it's really hot.

'We should be given a choice to dress how we want.'

Both undergraduates said they were not aware of their school's dress code.

Miss Tang said: 'As long as you are not too skimpily dressed, I think it's fine. We wear what we feel comfortable in.'

Her definition of too skimpy? 'Really short skirts where if you walk up the stairs, you expose things that you shouldn't.'

But both are quick to add that they do not think their sense of style is sexy.

Over at NTU, Miss Lynn Ho, 21, a first-year design student, noted that dress codes can serve a purpose.

She said: 'There should be a limit to how much skin you show. If you reveal too much, than you aren't showing respect to your lecturers and teachers.'

That said, the undergraduate believes that tertiary institutions should respect students' right to express themselves creatively since they are young adults.

While she is aware of her school's dress code, she noted that it is not strictly enforced.

Miss Ho, who was clad in a white spaghetti-strap top and grey shorts, pointed to her outfit, saying: 'To me, this is okay, because everything is covered up.'

This article was first published in The New Paper on 10 Nov 2008.