4 features The Beacon Monday, April 18, 2011

Do your pants hang low?

According to Representative Hazelle Rogers, a proposed law
prohibiting students from wearing their pants below their waists
would lead to better performance in schools.
Samone Davis
Staff Writer
Dear Floridians, it’s time to start buying
the right size pants that won’t sag below
es. Although there was to be punishment, it
was not to include jail time unless the per-
son refused to pay his fine.
At first the police issued warnings to vio-
lators of the new law, but eventually they

Senior 2011 Stories

the waist and maybe a belt, too, just to be
on the safe side.
Many localities throughout Florida are
becoming strict about their dress
code policy, and legislators are
once again going hard after the
saggy pants problem.
On Tuesday, March 16, a
Florida House of Represen-
tatives sub-committee gave
thumbs up to a bill requir-
ing people to wear pants
at an appropriate place
above the waist. There
is a similar bill that the
Florida Senate is consid-
ering.
The House bill was introduced by
Representative Hazelle Rogers (D-
Lauderhill), who aimed to limit the
inappropriate dress of students in
elementary school, high school and
college, and to keep students from
wearing revealing clothing.
In a press release, Rogers said
that she believes her idea will
lead to a better economy, better
school districts and more pro-
ductive students. She said that
it is a “pro-education, pro-jobs,
pro-family legislation is de-
signed to teach our children
how important appropriate at-
tire is to future success.”
Such bills have been pro-
posed in the state legislature
before, without ever becom-
ing law. On the local level in
Palm Beach County, Riviera
Beach passed such a law in
2008.
The law was passed by ref-
erendum, with 72 percent of
voters in favor of it.
Riviera officials had planned
that there would be a pro-
gressive warning for peo-
ple caught with their
pants below their waist,
meaning that with each
warning the fine increas-
Charlotte Rakestraw / Graphic Arts Editor
began to make arrests. Those arrests gen-
erated a great deal of controversy, putting
the small city on the map through blogs
and publications that included Time Mag-
azine.
The American Civil Liberties Union was
among the opponents of the law, which ul-
timately was found unconstitutional by a
county judge.
Provisions of the law included the follow-
ing:
a) It shall be unlawful for any per- Joe
son to appear in public or view of the
public, wearing pants below the waist
which expose the skin or under garments.
b) Any person convicted of violat-
ing the provisions of this section shall be
punished by a fine of $150.00 or shall
be given community service to perform.
c) Any person convicted of a
second or subsequent offence of vio-
lating the provisions of this section
shall be punished by fine of $300.00
d) Any person who fails to pay a
fine or complete community service as
set forth herein may be imprisoned for
a term not exceeding sixty (60) days.
There are other cities in Florida, such
as Opa Locka, that have enforced a local
law concerning “sagging pants.” Since the
same saggy pants style is popular among
some in West Palm Beach, is it a possibility
that our city is next for a local law like this?
“Well, the whole sagging pants thing
started in jail because men aren’t allowed
to possess any objects that can contrib-
ute to suicide or anything that,” said Rick
Marc, junior at Palm Beach Atlantic Uni-
versity. “Let’s be real; it’s a bigger problem
with urban males doing it, but still nobody
wants to randomly see any person’s un-
derwear in the street, so I think a law like
this in West Palm Beach should be thought
about.”

Band surrenders music to God

In Surrender, a local band, talks about their second record, inspiring
people with their music and their relationship with God.
Jacki Stuckert
Staff Writer
Starbucks at 7 on a Tuesday night.
The door swings open. Four middle-
aged men look as though they will be
attending or playing a rock concert
that evening.
They are In Surrender, a local band
out of West Palm Beach that sings,
plays, writes and records music for
the glory of God. They have opened
for Tenth Avenue North at an Epic
Beauty event and were a part of Re-
spectable Streets’ local music night.
Band members came from all differ-
ent walks of life but met here in Flor-
ida and found that their passions and
their goals matched one another’s.
One evening, Tony Dearth was
on his way to play a show with an-
other band he was affiliated with but
stopped to get some coffee first. In-
side Dunkin’ Donuts, he met Antho-
ny Daly. They hit it off, got to talking
about music and found they had sim-
ilarities in that they wanted to make
music for God.
This Christian band whose mu-
sic is a bit on the heavier side has
a mission beyond what one would
expect. “It’s got to be God first,”
says drummer Brian Privitera.
The guys have realized over the years
that all the bad language and bad at-
titudes that come with secular music
are not bringing deserved glory to
their King. “I was created by God,
for God, to give back to Him what He
created me for,” Privitera says.
These guys realize that they can
speak to others through their mu-
sic. “There’s a lot of alternative. I’ve
seen a lot of good compliments and
eyes light up even with a beer in their
hand while we were playing at a bar,”
Dearth says. “That may have been
their moment.” All four men know
the importance of being real in a
Luke
world where so many people aren’t.
In Surrender has an EP out of all
original songs and is currently in the
studio working on their second. The
guys are hoping to expand their fan
base with this next record. Accord-
ing to In Surrender, this new sound
will be a bit more main-stream and Photo Courtesy of F
they’re hoping to branch out.
You can find the band on facebook.
com and myspace.com.