In my lifetime, I have been to a few graduations. There are some people who always enjoy decorating their graduation caps because it makes the experience feel more personal. According to the Virginia Wesleyan University website, the Commencement Day instructions prohibit any personal, “adornments of any kind to be worn on the cap, gown, or hood. This includes badges, corsages, and lettering of any kind.”
Tuition at this school is expensive, and students often communicate with one another about how stressed they are because they may not be able to get a meal or pay for their textbooks. If students want to decorate their caps, then they should be able to do that. I understand that the university has rules, but the reasoning for making this rule is beyond me.
I love this school and am going to miss it. However, one thing that I will not miss about it is how it can sometimes be overly controlling. Graduation is that one time where students should do whatever they want. If they want to decorate their caps, then they should do that. When I first started thinking about what school I wanted to attend, I thought about what location I wanted it to be in; how big the school should be and other factors as well. The main reason I decided to go to school though was to earn a diploma. Most everyone who goes to college goes because they want to earn a diploma. This school shouldn’t make it a rule that they want students to not decorate their caps when they have worked their hardest for the last four years to earn one.
I already know that I am not going to be decorating my cap because it isn’t my sense of style to decorate it, but I can imagine that a lot of people would want to decorate their caps and they should be able to.
Farah Haidari
fahaidari@vwu.edu
