High Life : A WEEKLY FORUM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS : Capistrano District OKs Dress Code

Students at Dana Hills High, San Clemente High, Capistrano Valley High and the new Aliso Niguel High are preparing to get by with fewer dress options next school year. Last week, trustees of the Capistrano Unified School District voted to ban all attire that could be construed as gang-related, including combat boots with flight jackets, chains and bandannas, wool plaid shirts with baggy khaki pants, dangling belts, altered overalls and baseball caps.

“Banning the clothes won’t lessen gangs,” said Peter Chang, who will be a senior at Dana Hills High. “If there are gangs they’ll stay together anyway.” But Peter, 16, of Laguna Niguel, agrees with the ban, “for people who are a bad influence or, say, guys who keep on wearing Raiders jackets or baggy pants, for people who wear these clothes all the time and who advertise” gang affiliation.

Michael Trudeau, of Laguna Niguel, who also will be a senior next year, said much of the dress code was in effect last year at Dana Hills.

“They won’t enforce it” to the letter, said Michael, 17. “They use (dress codes) as an excuse to nail people who are out of line. Last year, people got a lot of hats taken away, that was all.”

Also banned on the four campuses will be items that “compromise safety or modesty” or clothing, jewelry or accessories that feature language or symbols involving violence, sex, drugs, alcohol or tobacco.

Individual high school administrations will be allowed to adjust the policy as gang-related styles evolve locally.

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For teen-agers, success in job-hunting often starts with a trip to a library or bookstore.

Among the books recommended for job searches: Ron Fry’s “Your First Job,” Elizabeth Tenner’s “The Smith College Guide: How to Find and Manage Your First Job,” Jennifer Arnold Mast’s “Job Seeker’s Guide to 1,000 Top Employers,” Betsy Sheldon’s “Smart Woman’s Guide to Resumes and Job Hunting” and “The Damn Good Resume Guide” by Yana Parker.

At the library, also check trade journals, local business publications and analysts’ reports from brokerage firms.

Regional “Job Bank” books by Bob Adams Inc. provide relevant information for job-hunters including percentage growth and a company’s average number of entry-level hires made each year.

For those feeling adventuresome: “How to Get a Job in Europe” by Robert Sanborn and “Jobs in Paradise: The Definitive Guide to Exotic Jobs Everywhere” by Jeffrey Maltzman are good sources of information.

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“He who wears his morality but as his best garment were better naked.”--Kahlil Gibran