Purple gowns possible
By Monique Bhimani
Staff Reporter

Chancellor Victor Boschini is scheduled to decide today if graduates will be donning purple caps and gowns instead of black.

Of the students who participated in an e-mail survey, 70 percent favored a change to purple gowns, but the ultimate decision lies with Chancellor Victor Boschini. He will make the final choice of the color change, which could go into effect at a cabinet meeting today.

Margaret Kelly, director of special projects in the marketing and communication department, said an e-mail survey was sent to all students who would have enough credit hours to graduate in December or May.

The survey got a 48 percent response rate from the e-mail link sent to 2,010 seniors Oct. 6.

Of the 965 students who responded to the survey, 676 voted for the new purple caps and gowns, and 289 wanted to keep the color black, Kelly said.

“I want to do what the students wanted to do,” Boschini said. “Based on the student survey, the students were in favor of (the color change) and I want to explore that option.”

While it appears that most students would like the purple graduation outfits, Student Government Association President Brad Thompson said he wonders about the exact shade of purple the caps and gowns would be.

“I think it reflects the overall pride of the university,” said Thompson, a senior radio-TV-film major. “I haven’t seen the color, though, so it could be some really ugly, gaudy color, or it could be really cool.”

Erin Hamilton, a junior English major, said she sees the color change to be of no importance to the graduation ceremony.

“I have no idea why it matters; I like the color purple as much as any other,” Hamilton said. “If I could vote, I would vote black, I guess, because I have more black clothing.”

Lauren Kelley, a senior English major, said she is adamantly against having purple graduation robes and would rather wear the traditional black caps and gowns.

“I think purple is an abomination,” Kelley said. “I think purple is kind of tacky, and I just don’t want to walk down the aisle in purple.”

Boschini also said he would take into consideration the price change, which would add an additional $5.50 to the current $18 fee, according to Kelly’s e-mail. This fee would cover the higher quality fabric of the gowns and allow seniors to keep the mortarboard cap, she said.

“You don’t know me, but I’m cheap,” Boschini said. “I don’t want people to pay more than they have to.”