Rutgers apologizes for rejecting students from job fair over clothes
PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Rutgers University has apologized after turning students away from a career fair for wearing the wrong colored clothing.
NJ.com reports that Rutgers Business School issued a formal apology in a statement on Thursday for barring students from entering a job fair who wore attire that violated a new dress code. The stringent new policy forbids blue suits, colored shirts, brown shoes and other attire.
An online student petition prompted an apology from the school.
Administrators say the dress code change was in response to students who did not dress properly in past years. Senior Associate Dean Martin Markowitz says the school did not permit blue to avoid confusion with different shades.
Student Kevin Chen told the Targum he was turned away for wearing a navy suit he had worn to previous interviews.
“I am not angry about being turned away ... but to be turned away due to my fashion sense is absurd,” Chen told the newspaper. “I didn’t go to show off my style, I went to show my skills.”
Rutgers says it will help students who were turned away get in contact with recruiters.
