June of 2007 signified the end of a long-standing academic tradition at Otterbein. It was the last time Otterbein graduates earning a bachelor's degree would wear academic hoods during the ceremony. The hoods, signify their specific achievement.
Otterbein was one of the only central Ohio colleges keeping the tradition alive.
According to The University of Missouri-Kansas City Web site, the shape and size of the hood is determined by the college degree being earned by the student. A bachelor's degree hood is three feet in length and has a two-inch velvet border.
A student's major decides the color of a hood. For instance, green, the color of herbs, is assigned to those practicing medicine.
The tradition began in medieval Europe at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, where the hood was originally a practical element of the regalia but eventually became an ornamental article.
According to Cindy Davis, associate registrar, 85-90 percent of undergraduate students don't receive hoods. They are usually awarded to students receiving their master's and doctorate degrees. Davis thinks that it defeated the purpose of wearing them because Otterbein students were not being hooded on stage.
The 2008 class will receive tassels and zipper pulls instead of the traditional hood. Davis explained that the tassels will be school colors and have the Otterbein logo on the metal drop. The zipper pull will have the Otterbein seal and can later be attached to key chains or briefcases.
Davis also explained that the change in attire was a sustainability matter, which will result in a $14 cut per graduating student.
Senior broadcasting major Amber Schultz thinks this practice is what set Otterbein apart from other colleges. "I was planning on asking Dr. Christina Reynolds to hood me."
Schultz expressed her disappointment, stating that she "expected to have one" and when she went to purchase her regalia, hoods were not an option.
Senior Molly Elder, an early childhood education major, also had a professor in mind to help carry on this tradition.
"I was planning on asking Professor Grace McDaniel, and I think it's somewhat childish to ask her to put my zipper pull or tassel on me," said Elder.
I know I will not do anything with my graduation attire after June 15, besides stick it in a closet at my parents' house.
Seeing as how most other colleges and universities no longer do this and the change is helping to cut costs, I have no reason to complain, other than the fact that we still are holding our ceremony in the Rike, instead of a more eye-pleasing facility, or outdoors. t&c;
ALICIA DAVIS IS A SENIOR ORG. COMM. AND PUBLIC RELATIONS MAJOR AND STAFF WRITER FOR THE t&c.;
