Rock Hill school to lend belt to saggy pants students

ROCK HILL, S.C.,None — A high school in Rock Hill will no longer be disciplining students who come to class with saggy pants.

Instead, school officials at Northwestern High School will lend the student a belt.

The principal at the school, James Blake, told the Rock Hill Herald he hopes it will make students think twice about how they dress.

Blake said the purpose is also to prepare students for the future, when the way they present themselves could mean the difference between a job and unemployment.

"It's about marketability," Blake said. Employers "want you to be presentable. That's what we're trying to get them to do."

"We see kids with their britches hanging down all the time," assistant football coach and administrative assistant William Cureton said. "We want to change the culture."

Previously, if students' pants sagged below their waist, they could be written up.

Junior Joe Johnson told the Herald the sagging ban is unfair because students should be allowed to dress the way they want. He doubts that loaning a belt for the day will deter teens, in part, he said, because many students already wear a belt on their sagging pants.

"They'll just have one extra belt," he said.

WSOC