I support school uniforms because they improve many aspects of students' social and academic lives. Uniforms help reduce peer pressure and bullying, gang violence and theft, and improve attendance rates and academic performance. A uniform policy should definitely be integrated into national school systems. First, school uniforms reduce gang violence and theft among students. Uniforms reduce gang violence because gang members would not be able to show their colors while at school, making it harder for them to identify each other. Case studies on the effects of uniforms on gang violence have provided support for this claim. In the 1990s, a case study in Long Beach, California showed that instituting a uniform policy significantly reduced violence and crime, with the crime rate dropping by 91%. Additionally, Chicago school officials found a decline in g¬¬¬¬ang violence after integrating uniforms into their school systems. Uniforms would also lead to a decrease in theft of valuable clothing items because students would have fewer opportunities to steal things like designer clothes or expensive shoes and accessories. Both a reduction in gang violence and theft will help minimize the disciplinary actions teachers have to take and would also help students improve their behavior in school. Peer pressure and bullying would also decrease. Bullies would be less likely to pick on other children because of the clothes they wear or the way they dress. Additionally, students should not worry about peer pressure to wear “in” clothes or have a different outfit every day. Furthermore, as cited “disadvantaged students shouldn't have to worry about being targeted because their parents can't afford the name-brand clothes other kids are wearing.” These effects would help because bullying plays a major role in adolescent self-harm and uniforms would help address and minimize this problem. The main reasons why uniforms should be incorporated are to improve grades and attendance rates. Instead of focusing primarily on clothes and how they are dressed, students could focus more on academic performance because they would not compare themselves to others. Additionally, attendance rates would increase because “many parents report that their children spend a lot of time planning and choosing their clothes, and that uniforms allow students this time to sleep and study.” Thus, uniforms would minimize the time spent choosing clothes and students would be more likely to attend school.