Graduates will break tradition to wear purple for the Centennial class
Posted on February 28, 2008
JMU is out with the traditional black graduation gowns and in with new purple gowns to transform the Centennial graduating class into a sea of purple.
“[It’s] been under consideration for a while now as appropriate for our institution,” said Bill Wilson, director of the Madison Institutes.
Some students feel that changing the gown color is a break in tradition that it is not appropriate for graduation.
“It’s very high-schoolish,” senior Lindsay Dowd said. “Black represents academia and higher education while colors is something you would do in high school.”
Other seniors were concerned that each college’s colors would not match the purple gowns.
“I think it’s going to make the hoods awkward,” senior Robert Burden said. “I think they should reconsider it for this year because it is the Centennial, and we shouldn’t look like trash.”
Wilson said that a purple robe recently became available that was suitable for JMU. He also said that students who already own a black gown could exchange it at the bookstore for a purple one, at a discounted price between $50 and $55.
Some students liked the idea of purple robes and thought it would fit nicely at JMU.
“It’s the Centennial graduation so it should be bigger and better,” senior Maggie Eckel said. “You don’t have any tradition without changing things.” Eckel added that she would love to graduate in purple and was surprised that JMU did not change the robes sooner.
Senior Taylor-Lee Wickersham is also happy about the robe changes.
“I think it really helps to make the Centennial class a big deal and unifies us and marks the historic milestone in JMU history,” she said, adding that she received an e-mail that said seniors are encouraged to wear gold shoes to go along with the JMU purple and gold theme.
It is unknown whether the new robes will be used in future ceremonies.
“No decisions have been made at this time regarding the color of graduation robes for future years,” said University Spokesman Don Egle.
