{"id":12136,"date":"2018-05-14T04:19:52","date_gmt":"2018-05-14T04:19:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=12136"},"modified":"2018-05-15T04:23:32","modified_gmt":"2018-05-15T04:23:32","slug":"what-can-we-learn-from-the-way-graduates-are-decorating-their-caps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/what-can-we-learn-from-the-way-graduates-are-decorating-their-caps\/","title":{"rendered":"What can we learn from the way graduates are decorating their caps?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sheila Bock<\/a>, University of Nevada, Las Vegas<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

For college students across the country, commencement formally marks the transition from student to graduate. Per tradition, most schools feature speakers, give out awards, organize departmental dinners \u2013 and, of course, designate caps and gowns for students to wear when they receive their diploma.<\/p>\n

But in the midst of the official pomp and circumstance, more and more graduates are adding a personal touch: They\u2019ll decorate their graduation caps, also known as mortarboards.<\/p>\n

As a folklorist<\/a>, I pay close attention to the creative ways in which people choose to express themselves, which can tell us a lot about their beliefs, perspectives and aspirations. <\/p>\n

When I attended my first University of Nevada, Las Vegas, commencement ceremony as a faculty member in 2011, it struck me how widespread the practice of decorating mortarboards had become. I wanted to learn more about how graduates were decorating their caps, what messages individuals wanted to convey and what these messages revealed, more broadly, about their college experiences. <\/p>\n

So I began gathering data on the caps from photographs, surveys and interviews. Much of it will eventually be digitally archived<\/a> by the Center for Folklore Studies at The Ohio State University. While the project is still ongoing, I\u2019ve begun to identify a few key trends. <\/p>\n

Celebrating the accomplishment<\/h2>\n

The practice of embellishing mortarboards is by no means new. In the 1960s, some graduates would affix peace signs<\/a> to the top of their caps to protest the Vietnam War. When I completed my B.A. at University of California, Berkeley, in 2003, it was not uncommon to see decorated caps atop the heads of graduates.<\/p>\n

Today, however, it seems to have become much more popular \u2013 which can probably be attributed, at least in part, to social media. As one person I interviewed put it, these caps are very \u201cInstagrammable\u201d: visually appealing, easy to photograph and sure to garner likes and comments. <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

It makes sense that people would want to announce the accomplishment of graduation, and a photo of a personalized cap posted on social media is one way to do so. Sharing images of customized caps inspires others to do the same, and so the practice spreads. <\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, many of the messages on decorated caps reaffirm the value of higher education and look optimistically to the future (\u201cThe Best is Yet to Come,\u201d \u201cTime to Spread Your Wings\u201d). Others reflect school pride by including a university logo or mascot or identifying the graduate\u2019s major or academic accomplishments. <\/p>\n

\n \"\"<\/a>
\n One student is already looking ahead to med school.<\/span>
\n Sheila Bock<\/span>, Author provided<\/span><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Identity often influences what appears on the caps. You\u2019ll see students reference their family, their veteran status, their hometown, religious beliefs and personal obstacles they\u2019ve overcome.<\/p>\n

\n \"\"
\n A University of Massachusetts at Amherst student thanks her parents on her mortarboard.<\/span>
\n AP Photo\/Beth J. Harpaz<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Was it all worth it?<\/h2>\n

Humor is also common. Sometimes it\u2019s deployed to highlight the graduate\u2019s personality or mock the formality of the occasion, with phrases like \u201cThanks Mom, Dad and Alcohol.\u201d One cap had a 3-D model of a beer pong table \u2013 little cups included \u2013 affixed to it. <\/p>\n

But graduates will also use humor to engage with more serious issues. One 2017 UNLV graduate\u2019s cap, for example, featured a homemade version of the \u201cI Have Three Dollars<\/a>\u201d meme, which features Patrick Star from the animated children\u2019s television show \u201cSpongeBob SquarePants.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n \"\"
\n The degree is taken care of \u2013 but what about the debt?<\/span>
\n Sheila Bock<\/span>, Author provided<\/span><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While making a humorous pop culture reference, the student was really calling attention to her experience of being a poor college student \u2013 and the fact that she\u2019ll be carrying significant student loan debt well into the future. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s just one of many examples that show how graduates can creatively use the space on their mortarboards to resist the celebratory mood of commencement, questioning whether the time and money spent on a degree was really worth it (\u201cMy $35K Hat,\u201d \u201cWas the BS Worth the BS?\u201d). <\/p>\n

Taking a stand<\/h2>\n

Like the graduates protesting the Vietnam War in the 1960s, today\u2019s graduates are also making political statements. Slogans like \u201cBlack Lives Matter\u201d or images of raised, clenched fists will appear on caps. <\/p>\n

\n \"\"
\n The mortarboard has become a space to make political statements.<\/span>
\n Sheila Bock<\/span>, Author provided<\/span><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where I have collected the majority of my data so far, is among the most diverse campuses in the nation<\/a>. In observing and tracking mortarboard cap decorations over the last couple of years, I have seen a marked increase in the number of caps that highlight the wearer\u2019s racial and ethnic identities (\u201cBlack Girl Magic,\u201d \u201cThis Xicana from El Chuco. \u00a1Si Pudo!\u201d).<\/p>\n

Then there are the mortarboards that point to the immigrant status of graduates or their families: \u201cThey Migrated So I Graduated,\u201d \u201cProduct of Immigration,\u201d \u201cA Product of 2 Refugees Now with 2 Degrees.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n \"\"
\n For the children of immigrants, receiving a college degree can be a huge milestone in their larger family story.<\/span>
\n Sheila Bock<\/span>, Author provided<\/span><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To these graduates, it\u2019s important to show that the procurement of a college degree is part of an ongoing family immigration story characterized by hard work and perseverance. Images of butterflies \u2013 a symbol of the immigrant rights movement<\/a> \u2013 also dot many caps. A good number reference the DREAM Act<\/a> and the hostile political climate immigrants and their families find themselves in.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Everyone experiences college differently. For every student who spreads their wings socially or falls in love with their major, there are those who struggle to stay on top of tuition bills and keep up their grades. <\/p>\n

\"TheWhile all of these students end up in the same place on graduation day, a critical look at these mortarboards gives us both a glimpse into the varied paths students take to graduation and the different futures that await them.<\/p>\n

Sheila Bock<\/a>, Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Nevada, Las Vegas<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

This article was originally published on The Conversation<\/a>. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sheila Bock, University of Nevada, Las Vegas For college students across the country, commencement formally marks the transition from student to graduate. Per tradition, most schools feature speakers, give out awards, organize departmental dinners \u2013 and, of course, designate caps and gowns for students to wear when they receive their diploma. But in the midst […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":12137,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[293],"tags":[178,366,3126,839,4491,2454,373,679,2435],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12136"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12136"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12136\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12138,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12136\/revisions\/12138"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}