Administrators at a Memphis middle school have developed an interesting way of battling students with sagging pants: making them look like television nerd Steve Urkel.
When Westside Middle School Principal Bobby White or a staff member sees a student with his or her pants hanging too low on their butts, they apply a plastic zip tie to tighten the pants at a proper (or slightly high) level.
The too-tight zip tie creates a fashionable "high-water" affect on the pants hem that resembles the look worn by Family Matters character Steve Urkel.
The plan started last week, and about 80 students a day are now getting "Urkeled."
Now sagging pants is said to have dropped 80 percent in the school.
I'll give the school administrators an A for creativity. This is a cute way of drawing attention to the issue of sagging pants among young people. It isn't exactly the worst thing going on in our community (try our youth killing each other in droves), but it is a problem because it conditions the students to both dress and act unprofessionally.
Unfortunately, as the embarrassment and novelty fades, it will probably become cool to get "Urkeled" in the school. So be it.