South Carolina school lends out belts to curb sagging-pants violations

Lookin' like a fool with your pants on the ground?

A South Carolina school is staging saggy-pants interventions by lending out belts to students defying the dress code.

At Northwestern High School in Rock Hill, South Carolina, school officials hope to reduce dress-code disciplinary action by lending out belts for a day instead of immediately writing up the dress-code violations.

"We see kids with their britches hanging down all the time," said William Cureton, Northwestern's assistant football coach and administrative assistant. "We want to change the culture."

Principal James Blake added, "We're willing to try anything in order to give the kids an opportunity to do the right thing."

It's not necessarily a perfect solution. Yahoo.com noted that one student criticized the free-belt initiative as "most students already wear belts with their boxer-baring jeans — they just use the belt as an accessory rather than a functioning waistband."

In Florida, a "droopy drawers bill" has been proposed, officially banning the "pants on the ground" trend. Hike up those pants, or face fines — or end up in jail.

At Northwestern High, a free belt seems like a gentler first line of defense against intentional wardrobe malfunctions.