By: Jessica Ingram

As graduation approaches, the craft stores in the area will begin to get a rush of college students getting prepared to participate in the tradition of decorating their graduation caps. Some schools have initiated a ban on the popular college tradition. So the question is, should graduates be allowed to decorate their grad caps or is it tacky?

To me, the decorated graduation caps are not tacky. Instead, they express each graduate’s individual personality; although it is generally the females that participate in this tradition.

I can understand where the schools’ bans on the decorated caps are coming from. I can see that they want the graduates to have a sense of uniformity and of them all being one. However, at this stage, aren’t students learning that expressing their individuality would be beneficial to themselves?

Some would also argue that the students have paid for the caps and gowns, so they should be allowed to do what they’d like to the caps.

The decorating of the graduation caps has gained national attention. The website BuzzFeed even has an article devoted to the different way graduates can decorate hats, as well as an article about the best graduation cap designs they have seen.

With all this national attention, it seems as though those schools banning the decorating of caps would be more comfortable letting their graduates decorate.

The crowd most likely enjoys looking down on the graduates and seeing all of the different designs that the graduates have been able to create on the top of a simple fabric and board cap.

I say, ignore the tackiness and allow the graduates to show their creations.

I, for one, am extremely happy that VSU allows its students and graduates to express their individuality by designing a one-of-a-kind graduation cap.