They may evoke a Herman Munster aesthetic, but UGG boots - and their assorted imitators - never seemed particularly monstrous.
Not until a few students at Pottstown Middle School started using the brand's trademark footwear and other "outdoor, open-top boots" to smuggle in the forbidden contraband known as the cellphone.
So principal Gail M. Cooper decided to put a stop to it. Cellphones already were prohibited in class. The boots had to go, too.
On Wednesday, Cooper sent home a letter to parents telling them that she had banned students from wearing "outdoor, open-top boots" during the school day.
Students may wear their boots to school, but must change into sneakers or shoes, and lock away the boots, before going to homeroom in the morning. Boots that lace up and zip up are allowed during the school day as long as they are laced up and zipped up to the top.
"There were problems with young people bringing their cellphones to class," said John Armato, director of community relations for the Pottstown School District. "Can you imagine teaching 25 students and cellphones are going off, the student is trying to turn it off or trying to take a picture? That disrupts the positive educational atmosphere."
Parent reaction has been mixed, Armato said.
Some are opposed. Some support the decision. "Others are saying, 'Why are we talking about this?' " Armato said.
Students who do not abide by the policy will "accrue the same consequences as other school rules," the letter said. Students who break the phone rules are subject to punishment including detention and possible confiscation of their phones.
Seventh grader Taylor Mickletz doesn't like the change.
"We already have to wear uniforms, and we want to express our thoughts by wearing the cute boots," said Mickletz, 13. "Girls can hide the phones anywhere - in their bras or their pockets - so I just think it's ridiculous."
Errin Cecil-Smith, a spokesperson for Deckers Outdoor Corp., which owns UGG boots, agreed with Mickletz.
"Open-top winter boots" are only one place that cellphones can be hidden, Cecil-Smith said, saying focusing on a boot seemed "arbitrary."
Mickletz's mother, Sue, said cellphones should be kept out of the classroom, but thinks that the 700-member student body shouldn't have to pay the price for those that break the rules.
Parent Jon Swanson, whose daughter Heather created a "Bring Back Boots to Pottstown Middle School!!!" Facebook page, said the new rule is a "path of least resistance" and misses the chance to teach a valuable lesson.
Enforce the rules that already exist, Swanson said, and teach the students that there are consequences when you have a cellphone in class.
Contact staff writer Kristin E. Holmes at 610-313-8211 or kholmes@phillynews.com.
They may evoke a Herman Munster aesthetic, but UGG boots - and their assorted imitators - never seemed particularly monstrous.
