Comments on: Greening Graduation

By: Steve Puma

Steve Puma — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 01:10:43 +0000

Food for thought: could you see getting married without a wedding dress? Most people can’t. I think that humans, whatever their culture, are very attached to the specific form that their “dressing up” uniforms come in.
Dressing up in a graduation gown signifies that this day is different and more special than all of the other occasions that I would dress nice. There’s not that many of them: weddings and graduations are the only 2 that I can think of.
My suggestions definitely doesn’t have to be “the” solution. I’m merely trying to provoke debate.
I don’t, however, believe that being environmentally responsible means having to be minimalist in all possible areas.

By: Steve Puma

Steve Puma — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 01:00:54 +0000

Liz,
I think that renting gowns, especially if they are made from sustainable materials, is definitely a great way to go!
Steve

By: Liz Krueger

Liz Krueger — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:17:11 +0000

Steve,
Not sure I agree that giving up the graduation cap/gown is the same as giving up other traditions to get dressed for special occasions. Getting dressed up is a way to commemorate a special occasion. I can see doing that without wearing a black gown – and black’s not my best color, anyway.
Having schools keep an entire stock of gowns for reuse also means that they have to keep an excess of sizes to accommodate all those who would wear them each year. That’s storage space. Band uniforms get worn regularly through at least a season. No easy way to share gowns across schools when graduations happen all in a cluster.
If the purpose is to continue the tradition, I say go with rentals of well-made gowns, and caps that can actually be cleaned, as well. (Mine for college graduation in 1984 were rented.)
Rethinking the purpose of the cap & gown from a systems perspective might result in a different – and more meaningful and sustainable – tradition for dress at graduations altogether.
Also, FYI – I happen to have kept my diploma in its folder, not framed.

By: Steve Puma

Steve Puma — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 23:38:39 +0000

Nathan,
While I agree with the general idea of reducing waste as much as possible, I have to disagree that the only purpose of caps + gowns are to unify the class, and that they are “useless”.
I truly believe in the sentiments espoused in “Cradle to Cradle”, where we should not focus solely on efficiency. According to McDonough & Braungart: “…efficiency isn’t much fun. In a world dominated by efficiency…Beauty, creativity, fantasy, enjoyment, inspiration and poetry would fall by the wayside, creating an unappealing world indeed. Imagine a fully efficient world: an Italian dinner would be a red pill and a glass of water with an artificial aroma. Mozart would hit a piano with a two-by-four…and what about efficient sex? An efficient world is not one we envision as delightful. In contrast to nature, it is downright parsimonious.”
If we do away with the graduation gown, we might as well do away with tuxedos, wedding dresses and all other clothing which we wear little yet signify great value to us. We should not loose those things that makes those occasions special.
Not to mention the fact that these garments are currently meeting a large customer need, and that need is still going to exist, otherwise people would have give up commencement garb long ago.
What we need to do is design systems which meet these needs, provide us with these services, yet still manage to nurture the natural environment.
It is a problem of systems design, not a problem of less vs. more.

By: Nathan

Nathan — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:57:25 +0000

Rather than caps and gowns made from more sustainable materials, how about none at all? I fail to see why we should continue the useless tradition of caps and gowns. They’re unnecessary and only serve a tradition of waste. If we want to unify the class in appearance or call-out the graduates (currently it only really serves photo-ops during the ceremony itself), then how about other methods: leis, flowers, pins, sashes, etc.?
It never fails to confound me why programs cling to the past when it doesn’t serve the future–especially those who taught how they teach their students to innovate and think differently.