All of us have had experiences where we interact with employees in our community, whether it is the gas attendant, the fast-food employee or a police officer. One of the commonalities is what these individuals wear while at work.
In some cases, there is a standard uniform that is widely recognized, as in the case of police officers and postal workers. In other cases, the uniform is established by a corporate headquarters such as a McDonald’s, while in other situations, it is established
by the respective local organization.
Virginia Tech is no different, as certain employees have extreme flexibility in what they can wear. In other cases, certain employee roles have very specific rules for attire, as explained when they are hired.
Take those who work in the dining halls as an example. Because of health regulations, employees are not allowed to have any form of facial hair, nails have to be free of any nail polish and trimmed, and side burns have to be at a certain length. Certain roles within dining also have specific types of uniforms.
We can also point to those that work with ROTC or the corps of cadets, as they are often seen in their military outfits.
On the other end of the spectrum would be instructional faculty. While there are no specific university rules on attire for faculty, a lot of it will depend on the culture of a department, a specific field and the comfort level of the faculty member. There is certainly a wide range that can be seen in the classroom.
In most cases, the prevailing attire on the campus is a form of business casual, with more formal dress reserved for administrators or for special occasions. For the most part, the goal is that everyone looks professional.
Why am I talking about attire on our campus?
Recently, a group on campus has been significantly affected by a change in the dress code — employees who work in the Facilities Services Division. You may recognize them as the housekeepers that work in the academic buildings keeping them clean, the maintenance workers working behind the scenes, the grounds crew and other facility roles.
Before the change, these employees would wear a Hokie maroon top and khaki pants in most cases. Today, the ensemble is a completely blue outfit (the blue is a cross between a light blue and navy). It also has an embroidered patch with the words, “Facilities Services Division”. While the outfit is wearable, the color scheme seems to be out of place.
If you were to come across these employees, you would have no idea that they actually work at Tech, unless they were wearing their name tag.
Recently, as I have encountered staff members, I have asked about the change, and they honestly don’t know why it was made. Was this made to save money? Is this color easier to clean? Was it easier to go with the blue color? What was wrong with the maroon?
Thanks to the decentralized nature of things at Tech, not all housekeepers have to face this change. Those that work in the residence halls still have their maroon tops and khakis, while those who work in student activities have a special designed Hokie colored top that they can wear.
I wonder what type of input employees in facilities services had in this change? Were they involved in the process?
A version of this article appeared in the Apr 20 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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Blue sounds more convenient to clean to me anyway. As clumsy as I am, I would hate to have to handle cleaners and other various liquids with the risk of spilling it on my khaki pants, staining them, and looking like an idiot the rest of the day. You are reading way too far into this with the "blue collar" thing. It's just a color. At least they didn't make them wear something ugly like puke-green.
Uniform changes are really not that big of a deal as long as they are given to the staff and they don't have to pay for them. I worked at a chain restaurant where they changed the uniform standards and we had to get all new different colored shirts, and it really meant nothing to me, it was not a big deal at all. It's stupid to be bothered over something petty like that. I really have no one I am trying to impress in my Applebee's uniform while I am busting my ass.
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I talked to some of the staff when the new uniforms first came out. Most were ambivalent about the change, but stated they had no input. I too find the blue a little out of place and miss the maroon. But there was something else that wasn't mentioned here. With the new uniforms, staff were not allowed to wear shirts underneath for warmth as they had been allowed to do previously. In the wintertime, some of these old hallways are quite cold, so we would see the housekeeping staff working with their coats on. To my way of thinking, the powers that be had too much time on their hands, and little thought in their minds about the people who would be affected.
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I talked to some of the staff when the new uniforms first came out. Most were ambivalent about the change, but stated they had no input. I too find the blue a little out of place and miss the maroon. But there was something else that wasn't mentioned here. With the new uniforms, staff were not allowed to wear shirts underneath for warmth as they had been allowed to do previously. In the wintertime, some of these old hallways are quite cold, so we would see the housekeeping staff working with their coats on. To my way of thinking, the powers that be had too much time on their hands, and little thought in their minds about the people who would be affected.
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I talked to some of the staff when the new uniforms first came out. Most were ambivalent about the change, but stated they had no input. I too find the blue a little out of place and miss the maroon. But there was something else that wasn't mentioned here. With the new uniforms, staff were not allowed to wear shirts underneath for warmth as they had been allowed to do previously. In the wintertime, some of these old hallways are quite cold, so we would see the housekeeping staff working with their coats on. To my way of thinking, the powers that be had too much time on their hands, and little thought in their minds about the people who would be affected.
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Hey, dude, people in the Corps of Cadets don't wear a "military outfit," they wear a uniform.
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The color maroon and the "VT" logo on Facilities uniforms have always been a source of pride - associating us with the greater VT community. It is a HUGE morale buster to have to wear colors not associated with our university and to take away the VT logo. We may perform blue collar work, be we are a vital part of the university community and shouldn't be forced to feel otherwise!
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We are all preached to by faciities and University higher ups to act as a team , as we have always used the VT logo with no problem i cannot understand the change to the blue and white. Everything that is done now is decided and done now as my way or the highway apprroach employees thoughts no longer matter.a
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