Rutgers job fair dress code: Not quite color-blind

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.

The B-school’s senior associate dean, Martin Markowitz, explained the no-blue-suit dress code to the school’s student newspaper: “While a very nice theoretical discussion, I used to teach science and specifically designating a particular color with chromaticity coordinates using a spectropolarimeter is not possible at a Business School Career Fair. To avoid any confusion, we do not permit blue suits.”

Rutgers says it will help students who were turned away get in contact with recruiters.