"External appearances do matter," he said, adding that clothes, hair, makeup and jewelry send specific messages, some unintended.

The real issue concerns the sacred nature of the human body, Samuelson said.

"Things that once might have been considered slovenly or totally inappropriate," he added, "are now celebrated and even modeled by those in the public eye who often seem to revel in their capacity to shock and push the envelope of propriety."

Students should tuck in their shirts or otherwise cover their tummies rather than give in to pressure to adhere to the latest fashions, Samuelson said.

"Some believe they are expressing newfound freedoms," he said, "when all they are doing is expressing ignorance or disdain for things sacred and significant, while being trapped with the milling hordes of degrading conformity."

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E-mail: twalch@desnews.com