Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Crimes Against Fashion: Pennsylvania School Bans Uggs
By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 27, 2012
Modified Jan 27, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 27, 2012
Modified Jan 27, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
After students were caught smuggling in contraband items like cellphones into class, a Pennsylvania middle school has banned Uggs—or other "outdoor, open top boots." The Pottstown Mercury reports, 'In a letter sent home with students Wednesday, Principal Gail Cooper announced the ban, saying “we have been experiencing problems with some students wearing open top boots and carrying items in their boots that are prohibited in school.'"
Middle school students were apparently breaking the school policy by taking their phones into class, via their fur-lined shoes. Phones are allowed in the school: "students may bring cell phones to school but they 'must be turned off ' and 'kept in the student’s locker between 7:55 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.'" In Cooper's letter, she said, "Students may continue to wear outdoor boots to and from school to protect them from cold, snow and ice but need to change into a pair of sneakers or shoes before entering homeroom. Students may also continue to wear lace up, tight at the ankle, boots, shoes and high top sneakers." In other words, you ain't bringing your cellphone into class.
Parents reacted to the ban by venting on the Mercury's website: “When the schools started paying to raise and clothe my children then maybe... maybe they can have a say in dictating my child’s wardrobe. Totally ridiculous," and "Just take them (cell phones) when they have them in class, give them a detention and be done with it. Making up 100 silly rules to deal with something that is inevitable is like swimming upstream." Yeah, it's not like NY Philharmonic conductor Alan Gilbert can be there to shame those kids.
NYC students—and their parents—took exception with the Department of Education's cellphone ban. However, a court found the ban constitutional, "If adults cannot be fully trusted to practice proper cell phone etiquette, then neither can children."
Tagged
cellphone ban
cellphone
fashion
uggs
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Why LCD Soundsystem's 'New York, I Love You' is still the city's most honest anthem
The song continues to resonate 20 years after its release, even showing up in movies and TV to convey people’s mixed feelings toward the city.
By
Sonia Rao
Published Oct 30, 2026
Would you live on a Halloween block? These Hackensackers live for it.
A guillotine, killer clowns, clownfish: They've got it all on Clinton Place.
By
James Ramsay
Arts & Entertainment
Would you live on a Halloween block? These Hackensackers live for it.
A guillotine, killer clowns, clownfish: They've got it all on Clinton Place.
By
James Ramsay
Owl pellets and period equity: What's happening at NYC's public libraries this November
By
Alec Hamilton
How the Village Halloween Parade keeps its soul
By
Hannah Frishberg
'You Can See Everything' … as long as you go to Staten Island
By
Sonia Rao
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .