Gary Teenager Opposes Sagging Pants Fashion, City Considers Anti-Sagging Ban

Norman Parish | As of Thursday, October 8, 2015


Honor roll student Da’Ione Fields wants to see his community improve.

On weekends, the 18-year-old Gary high school senior sometimes voluntarily boards up abandoned buildings.

Fields also heads a youth group with more than 4,000 members, which has made him popular in the northwest Indiana city.

But his latest project has placed him in the center of controversy. He is helping to lead an effort to make it illegal for Gary residents to wear sagging pants.

“I am tired of seeing people’s buttocks,” said Fields, the head of the Gary City Youth Council. “Every day, I see someone with their pants hanging down. This is disrespectful.”

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High school student Da'Ione Fields is helping lead an effort to ban baggy pants in Gary, Ind. "I am tired of seeing people's buttocks," the 18-year-old honor student said.

Fields, a student at 21st Century Charter School in Gary, is working with Gary City Council Vice President Ronald Brewer to have an ordinance passed prohibiting sagging pants, a law that has been approved in some Chicago area communities and elsewhere.

For about two decades, the fashion has been common place in many urban areas throughout the U.S.

The fade was picked up from prisoners who wore sagging pants to indicate to other inmates that they were available for intercourse, officials said.

Officials across the country started looking for ways to end the trend.

Last year, officials in Ocala, Fl., approved a ban against saggy pants.

Anyone wearing pants two inches below his or her natural waist or exposed their underwear or backside on city property could have been fined or received jail time.

The Ocala City Council eventually repealed the ordinance after the NAACP threatened a lawsuit. The civil rights group said the law unfairly targeted African-Americans.

Closer to Gary, however, Sauk Village and the Village of Lynwood in south suburban Ill., have outlawed the fashion, Gary officials said.

In Lynwood, fines range from $25-$250 for violation of its ordinance, which was passed in 2011.

Lynwood Village President, Gene Williams said the ordinance has been effective in reducing the problem.

At the same time, Williams said there hasn’t been many citations issued.

“We did this to help young people so they aren’t messing up their lives,” Williams said. “Sometimes they can make decisions that might hinder their future. This was a good way for them to slow down and think about what they were doing.”

Some Chicago officials acknowledged that they don’t like seeing teens in saggy pants but they don’t necessarily believe there should be a law banning the fashion.

“It is offensive,” said State Sen. Jacqueline Collins (Dist. 16th), about saggy pants.

But Collins said young people don’t need to be hit with another fine.

Ald. David Moore (Ward 17th) is also opposed to the fashion.

“Do I like it?” Moore asked. “No. I don’t think it sends a good message to our young men.”

But Moore said he isn’t currently seeking an ordinance against sagging pants.

He said Chicago has bigger issues, like gun violence.

Fields however said he has plenty of support from teens for an anti-sagging pants ordinance in Gary.

Nearly 59 percent of 4,000 teens there supported a ban against saggy pants, he said. Just 31 percent of the youth opposed the plan, Fields said. Another 10 percent of the teens in the survey didn’t have a view.

Brewer said an ordinance would probably be officially introduced to Gary’s council by the end of this month.

In the ordinance, offenders would probably have to serve eight hours or so of community service for a first offense. Repeat offenders might have to pay a fine and participate in community service, Brewer said.

“I want to change the perception of Gary,” Brewer said. “I want our image to be a more positive one.”

Even though most youth in the recent Gary survey support the proposal, some teens are strongly opposed to the plan.

John Trellbowles, an 18-year-old classmate of Fields, said Gary officials should focus on other issues like more jobs.

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John Treilbowles opposes a sagging pants ban.

“How would people be able to pay the fines?” asked Trellbowles, who is the leading candidate for valedictorian at 21st Century Charter School, 556 W. Washington St. “What about people’s rights? People should be able to wear what they want.”

Trellbowles, himself, however, said he would never wear sagging pants.

Carlos Nickerson, 48-year-old Gary iron worker, said he wants an ordinance passed because he also doesn’t like the fashion.

Nickerson, who has three children attending college, said he used to frequently argue with his son about the fashion.

“I used to ask him if he was gay,” Nickerson said. “And he would say, “no.” I believe your appearance means a lot. If you dress like that, people might think you are a thug. You might even get stopped by the police because they think you are a criminal. It is all about your appearance. It means a lot.”

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