The 32-year enrollment peak Tuskegee University expects this fall arrives alongside a mandatory dress code requiring every student to own a business suit and proper shoes, and barring du-rags, bonnets, and other head coverings in classrooms and cafeterias. Retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Dr. Mark Brown, who became the Alabama HBCU's president two years ago, framed the policy as workforce preparation. Faculty will be empowered to enforce violations, though the president's message to students did not specify penalties.
What the policy requires
The revised Student Handbook mandates that students arrive on campus with a business suit and proper shoes for any business-like meeting. Inside classrooms and cafeterias, banned items include hats, bonnets, head scarves, caps, hoods, du-rags, bandanas, and sunglasses. Exemptions apply for documented medical, religious, cultural, or university-approved needs.
Clothing standards extend beyond headwear. Revealing clothing, bedroom shoes, sagging pants, T-shirts worn as dresses, excessively short shorts, swimsuit bottoms, body suits, and sleeveless undershirts are barred from classrooms and official settings including Convocation. Baggy or loose-fitting pants must be worn with a belt at the waist.
Several of these rules were already in Tuskegee's 2025-26 student handbook. Men were already prohibited from wearing do-rags, stocking caps, bandanas, and baseball caps inside university buildings, and sagging pants were already barred in academic facilities. Brown's directive tightens and formalizes that existing framework.
Cell phones and enforcement
The same rollout prohibits cell phone use in class unless an instructor specifically authorizes it. Phones should be turned off to remove distraction from lessons. Faculty are authorized to respond to both dress and cell phone violations. No penalty schedule accompanied the directive. VP of Strategic Communications Thonnia Lee confirmed the details to Fox News Digital and declined further comment.
The workforce rationale and the backlash
Brown's stated rationale: employers are less forgiving than professors, and presentation can outweigh preparation. Walter P. Cooper, Sr., director of Tuskegee's Career Education and Leadership Development Center, said access to proper attire should not be a barrier and noted the center also prepares students for business casual and casual workplace environments. For students who cannot afford compliant clothing, Tuskegee operates The Golden Tigers Community Closet.
Critics have labeled the restrictions on du-rags and bonnets as respectability politics targeting clothing tied to Black culture. Alumni responses split. Graduate Gwen McKinney called the policy "a breath of fresh air" and said there is "a time and place and a setting for every kind of dress."
The dress code takes effect as Tuskegee's incoming class is projected to be the largest in 32 years.