The word graduation means the successful completion of one area and a commencement of another. Strictly speaking graduation ceremonies, complete with the graduation caps and gowns, only officially start mattering once a student is enrolled in a bachelors program. All graduations before the bachelors convocation ceremony can be seen as practice or mock graduations. Most countries even only define the acceptable and corresponding colors for college/university graduations; schools are welcome to pick and choose their own colors. The ceremony itself has a long history, as do the academic gowns for graduation. The practice of commemorating school students with formal (but not official) graduation ceremonies perhaps comes from the popularization of the graduation caps and gowns, or perhaps to give students a little buffer to adjust into college life.
The academic gowns for graduations of the unofficial kind are welcome to be of any color and/or design. However, caps and gowns for high school graduations tend to come in darker shades and are not as “out there” in terms of looks. Perhaps that has to do with the fact that older children, especially teenagers, cannot be easily persuaded into wearing something that looks silly and is brightly colored. So, caps and gowns for high school graduations tend to be of a more sober variety. Graduations at lower levels, especially preschool graduations, often use bright yellows, greens and orange to make things more lively. After all, younger children deserve a little lightness, we don’t want things becoming too somber and dark for them. The official graduation ceremonies, or academic processions, that take place at universities, however, have very specific guidelines that must be followed. Failing to comply can result in the nullification of the graduation and disciplinary action for the university. Graduation gowns and caps at a higher level need to comply adhere very strictly to the guidelines set forth by the local government. Usually, the color of the gown is allowed to differ slightly, however, the color of the collar and the hood must be in accordance with the students’ status and discipline. An orange hood, for example, would signify an engineering student, whereas as a green hood would signal the presence of a student of the medical division. There is a whole list of colors that act in this way and are too many to list here. The width of the hood then determines the students’ graduation status. A bachelors student would have a hood that would be about two inches wide, whereas a masters student would have one that is four inches in width, and a doctorate student five.
Graduation days are indeed special. However, they only become officially necessary once one enters college. Anything and everything that happens before that in the name of graduation can be considered practice and not part of regulation. It may be tradition, but regulation it is not. Thank god there are some things in school that we do not because we have to, but because we want to. Take that college students! We are free!
The academic gowns for graduations of the unofficial kind are welcome to be of any color and/or design. However, caps and gowns for high school graduations tend to come in darker shades and are not as “out there” in terms of looks. Perhaps that has to do with the fact that older children, especially teenagers, cannot be easily persuaded into wearing something that looks silly and is brightly colored. So, caps and gowns for high school graduations tend to be of a more sober variety. Graduations at lower levels, especially preschool graduations, often use bright yellows, greens and orange to make things more lively. After all, younger children deserve a little lightness, we don’t want things becoming too somber and dark for them. The official graduation ceremonies, or academic processions, that take place at universities, however, have very specific guidelines that must be followed. Failing to comply can result in the nullification of the graduation and disciplinary action for the university. Graduation gowns and caps at a higher level need to comply adhere very strictly to the guidelines set forth by the local government. Usually, the color of the gown is allowed to differ slightly, however, the color of the collar and the hood must be in accordance with the students’ status and discipline. An orange hood, for example, would signify an engineering student, whereas as a green hood would signal the presence of a student of the medical division. There is a whole list of colors that act in this way and are too many to list here. The width of the hood then determines the students’ graduation status. A bachelors student would have a hood that would be about two inches wide, whereas a masters student would have one that is four inches in width, and a doctorate student five.
Graduation days are indeed special. However, they only become officially necessary once one enters college. Anything and everything that happens before that in the name of graduation can be considered practice and not part of regulation. It may be tradition, but regulation it is not. Thank god there are some things in school that we do not because we have to, but because we want to. Take that college students! We are free!
