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　　BALTIMORE－When 15-year-old Michael Thomas left home for school last May, he couldn’t have been prouder．On his feet, thanks to his mother’s hard work, were a pair of new Air Jordans－＄100 worth of leather, rubber and status(身份)that to today’s youth are the Mercedes-Benz of athletic footwear．The next day it was James David Martin, 17，who was walking down the street in Thomas’ new sneakers, while Thomas lay dead in a field not far from his school．

　　Martin was arrested(逮捕)for murder．

　　For the Baltimore school system, Thomas’ death was the last straw．He was the third youngster to have been killed over his clothes in five years．Dozens of others had been robbed of brand-new sneakers, fashionable jogging suits, leather jackets and jewelry．

　　This fall, the school board announced a dress code preventing leather shirts and jackets, jogging suits, gold chains and other expensive items．Joseph Smith, Board President, said, “Clothes have just gotten out of control”．Across the nation, parents, school officials, psychologists and even some children agree．They say that today’s youngsters, throughout the nation, have become clothes concerned(關(guān)心)．They worry about them, compete over them, pay no attention to school for them and sometimes even rob and kill for them．

　　In many cases, students are so concerned about what they and their classmates are wearing, they forget what they come to school for, educators said．In response, many public schools, mainly in eastern cities, have used school uniforms to cut down on competition．Educators say, in the present fashion climate, dressing students alike allows them more freedom to be normal individuals．

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　　He was killed 45 years ago．Since then his memory has been clouded by dark tales of affairs with the likes of Marilyn Monroe(瑪莉蓮·夢露), and links with the Mafia(黑手黨)．

　　But the myth(神話)of John F．Kennedy, the 35th President of the US, will not disappear．As America marked the anniversary of his death in Dallas, Texas ,on November 22,1963 ,questions were still being asked．

　　The official conclusion was that Lee Harvey Oswald, who worked at a Dallas book storehouse, murdered Kennedy．But all kinds of other ideas have been put forward as to what happened and why．

　　Some people believe Oswald was a madman, who spent some time in Russia and was an admirer of Fidel Castro, president of Cuba．It is said he was inspired by James Bond's spy novels and killed Kennedy as a gift for Castro．

　　But Oswald's brother thought he was a sad and lonely man who murdered the president to get attention and show off his shooting skills．

　　Meanwhile, some experts said that Oswald was really aiming for Texas Governor John Connally．He was said to have been angry with Connally, who was also secretary of the navy, over how he had been forced to leave the service．

　　A large number of people think the truth has been covered up on purpose ;even now, surveys show that more than half of Americans believe that Oswald was not working alone．An investigation(調(diào)查)found that four shots were fired ,with one shot coming from the building that Oswald was in．

　　But two days after the murder, Oswald himself was killed by Jack Rubinstein, a night-club owner．Rubinstein had Mafia connections and this has led to the theory that they were actually responsible for killing Kennedy．

　　Lyndon Johnson, who became president after Kennedy, has also been accused of being behind it all．According to reports, Johnson was sworn in(宣誓就職)even before Kennedy's death was announced．"We have a really tough decision that we don't want to face．There was a conspiracy(合謀)and people want an answer, " said Barr McClellan, who has written a book about the murder．

　　"The myth is very powerful," said Robert Dallek, a historian at Boston University, who has just published a book about Kennedy．"He was the first president to appear on television．He is frozen in our minds aged 46, forever young, energetic and charming．"