Graduation & Commencement Information

Regalia

Those who have cleared their petition with the Records Office will be fitted for a cap and gown at the Campus Bookstore in Tredtin Hall. Orders will be taken at the Bookstore from Monday, February 22 to Friday, March 5, 2010 during the hours of operation: M-F, 9:00am – 3:00pm. Any orders after March 5, 2010, will be charged a $20.00 late fee to cover single order fees and shipping charges.

All Graduates will receive a Cap, Gown, and a Tassel. Women graduating with an undergraduate degree will also be given a White Collar. Those graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree with Honors will receive an Honor Cord. Graduation Regalia will be available for pick up at the Bookstore beginning April 18, 2010.

Other graduation items will also be available for purchase at the Campus Bookstore. These items include:

Announcements: Each graduate will receive 10 announcements. Additional announcements will cost $2.15 each.
Personalized Name Cards: Check with the Bookstore (808-735-4798) for more information. Cost will be $14.50 per 50 name cards.
Class Ring: Check with the Bookstore for more information. Representatives from Herff Jones will be available during the week of cap and gown fitting. A deposit of $50 is required with your order, and the balance is due when you pick up the ring. Delivery of the rings takes 10 to 12 weeks.

Academic attire is as old as Universities themselves. Nearly all of them derive from some form of clerical or priestly garb worn by students and faculty in the Middle Ages. In Europe, each institution has its own variant of costume; in America, academic apparel follows a uniform code that was drawn up by a special commission in 1895. The code has three main parts: cap, gowns, and hoods.

The Oxford-type cap or mortar–board evolved from the square biretta of Renaissance churchmen. It is always black and may be of any appropriate material, although velvet is reserved for doctors. The tassel worn with the cap is switched from the right to the left side at the moment the degree is awarded.

Gowns are all black as designated by the code and are three kinds. The bachelor’s gown is a relatively simple type, falling in straight line from a fairly elaborate toke. Its distinguishing characteristic is the long, pointed sleeves. Master’s gowns are set apart by a peculiar arrangement of the long sleeves whereby the arms emerge from the sleeves through slits at the wrist. The doctor’s gown is an elaborate costume marked by velvet panels down the front and three bars of the same material on the bell-shaped sleeves. Both the color of the paneling and the bars show the faculty in which the degree was awarded.

The hood alone clearly displays the level of the degree, the faculty in which it was given, and the institution which awarded it. The level of the degree is shown by the size of the hood, by the width of the velvet trimming and, in the case of the doctor, by the shape. For each faculty, there is a corresponding color so that a glance at the trimming is all that is needed to identify the faculty. The institution which awarded the degree is indicated by the colored lining. The colors seen most often in procession represent the following fields:
White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arts, Letters, Humanities
Drab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Commerce, Accountancy, Business
Light Blue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Education
Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Fine Arts
Pink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Music
Dark Blue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Philosophy
Golden Yellow . . . . . . . . . . . Science
Scarlet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Theology