Graduates may sport new look
Monique Bhimani
Staff Reporter

After years of seeing TCU graduates wear the traditional black cap and gown at graduation ceremonies, friends and family of graduates might see something new this year — a sea of purple.

Margaret Kelly, director of special projects in the marketing and communication department, issued an e-mail to about 2,000 qualified seniors Monday that included information about the opportunity to change the color of the caps and gowns to purple. The e-mail also contained a link to vote online concerning this decision by Oct. 10.

“This is strictly an option, an opportunity for students,” Kelly said. “The purple (caps and gowns) would be used only by TCU students and no one else.”

Kelly said the black caps and gowns are part of a large inventory nationwide that is used by high schools and colleges alike. The new caps and gowns would be made of higher quality fabric and would have the customized color of TCU purple, she said. The higher-quality fabric will cost an additional $5.50 to the current price of $18, bringing the total to $23.50, Kelly said.

While some students would simply like to cross the stage, regardless of the color change, others like the idea that graduates could keep the mortarboard cap and tassel. Past graduates have only been able to keep the tassel as a souvenir.

“I feel strong degrees of indifference,” said Russ Tribble, a senior computer information science major. “If I got to that point (graduation), I wouldn’t care about the color. I could graduate in pink and it wouldn’t matter.”

Katie Childress, a senior English major, said she voted yes to the color change, because she thinks it is a good idea to keep the cap and tassel.

If the color were changed, all subsequent graduates would also wear the purple caps and gowns, Kelly said. She said that faculty members were in favor of the change and that a small focus group of alumni, conducted in December 2002, were also agreeable to this new TCU tradition.

“It would look really nice to see a sea of purple in the Fort Worth Convention Center and to take ownership,” Kelly said. “Since Frog Fountain is not portable, this would be a way to take a little bit of TCU to the convention center. That’s where the original idea came from.”

As of yet no change has been made. However, the deadline to vote on the color change is Oct. 10. Soon after this date, TCU will need to notify the company of whether to make the change or not, Kelly said.

“Life is full of different flavors of ice cream, and we get to pick and choose the ones we like,” Kelly said.