To protest mandatory school uniforms, a fifth grader and a seventh grader in New Jersey began wearing "Hitler Youth" buttons with a slash over the photo and the words "no school uniforms." Their parents have sued the district to block their threatened suspension. One of the mothers, Laura DePinto, issued a statement:

"I've gotten overwhelming support from MANY people that tell me that they absolutely agree with what the image depicted, an ominously homogenous group of blindly cooperative children," the statement said.

"That image showed no swastikas, no weapons, and Hitler himself wasn't depicted," she wrote. "The picture makes a profound statement about what can happen when we turn children into 'uniform' followers."

My view: (1) They have a free-speech right to protest the uniform policy. (2) The argument that a school uniform turns students into mindless drones is stupid.

Update: Under Tinker, students have free-speech rights on campus unless they're disrupting the school. A princpal would have no trouble arguing that swastika badges are disruptive. A button with a slash sign over Hitler Youth and a "no school uniforms" message doesn't seem inflammatory to me.

School uniforms can help create a sense of community in a school. My book, Our School, profiles a charter school that requires high school students to wear uniforms: khaki pants or skirts and black, gray or white polo shirts. Students hate it, but it makes it possible to eliminate all gang clothing and colors (red and blue).