Editorial: Dress codes are not created equal

Clothing choice is a statement.
What you wear speaks volumes about who you are as a person.
It depicts what you like, dislike and how you show yourself to the public.
College is the time when young adults are deciding who they are.
The days of high school and inescapable conformity are gone.
Students realize they can make whatever statement about themselves they want in college.
Auburn is home to more than 25,000 students. Walking along the concourse at any time of the day, people will inevitably be seen wearing different types of clothing and exuding a range of styles and attitudes.
A student is allowed to wear anything they want at most places around Auburn.
Male or female students are not discriminated against. As long as they are clothed and not wearing offensive materials, entry is allowed.
Any typical Friday or Saturday night, a massive amount of Auburn students flock to the bars downtown. They are wearing their favorite "going out" clothes and are ready for a good time.
Walking downtown is similar to walking along the concourse -- the variety of clothing and styles are abundant.
But, if you are a college male, you might not be allowed inside certain bars in downtown Auburn.
Bars such as Quixotes, Skybar and 17-16 enforce strict dress codes for male patrons. There are no specific regulations enforced for women.
Quixotes and 17-16 are owned by the same person and enforce a dress code forbidding sideways hats, baggy or saggy pants, tank tops, gym shorts, shorts below the knee, plain-white T-shirts and V-necks.
No man wearing these clothes will be allowed access into these bars.
At Skybar, a small, yellow sign states no sunglass after dark can be worn, no pants hanging below the waistline, no tank tops or sleeveless shirts and no plain-white T-shirts can be worn.
These rules are specifically for men, and no rules for women are listed.
The reasons for the dress code enforcement are many and varied.
Amid the bar-tar and sloshing drinks, some bars aim to keep a sense of formality and don't want men walking around in baggy pants and tank tops in their establishments. Others feel uncomfortable around plain-white T-shirts and the stigma around them.
Regardless, it comes to question that if a woman is wearing a plain white T-shirt and shorts below the knee, will she be asked to leave?
It's hard to overlook how women are allowed to wear whatever they want to the bars and men are not.
In the bars at Auburn, it is common to see a woman wearing a questionable outfit or shorts that leave little to the imagination, yet they are not asked to leave.
It only applies to men and certain styles.
The Bank Vault does not enforce a dress code.
"We don't have a dress code here," said Ben Barley, manager of The Bank Vault. "Anything that's common sense, like you have to have shoes and you can't be half naked, applies. We're not trying to exclude anybody."
Moe's Original Bar B Que closes down its kitchen at 9 p.m. and becomes a bar.
The dress code for Moe's is "casual," and most patrons walking around the bar are wearing T-shirts.
Bars enforcing a dress code for men and not for women need to reevaluate their standards.
Sometimes, a woman wearing a revealing outfit can be more uncomfortable than a man in sagging shorts.
If bars are going to enforce a dress code, it needs to apply to both sexes.
If men are not allowed to wear shorts below the knee, then don't allow women to wear shorts the size of bikini bottoms.
Women strive for equality in all aspects of life, why shouldn't it be the same for bar dress codes?

POLL: Have you ever been denied entrance to a bar in Auburn because of your clothing? http://t.co/r5K3e9Z9xT

-- The Auburn Plainsman (@TheAUPlainsman) July 23, 2014

Editorial: Dress codes are not created equal http://t.co/yZSwYxFU3Y @Ashtyne_Cole @charkelly15 #editorials #dresscode pic.twitter.com/k4w1B3yGVK

-- The Auburn Plainsman (@TheAUPlainsman) July 23, 2014