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Showing posts from June, 2013

Graduation Traditions

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My sister recently graduated from Syracuse University. It was the first graduatation I’ve been able to actually attend. I didn’t go to the actual graduation, but I did attend their University Convocation. There was a nice program that described the ceremony and it was beautifully captioned. But I noticed how many things I translated to my parents. Some background, I guess, is needed first. My dad has some sort of Bachelor’s degree, my mom has some college classes and a bunch of certificates but no degree. I didn’t attend the May ceremony for my undergraduate degree, but I did walk across the stage for my Master’s. Some items I found interesting So, the program stated that the robes that were being worn date back to monks or some nonsense. I could go get my history of higher ed book, but I remember pretty clearly that part of class. This “regalia” we wear is made up. We’ve made it up. We have no idea why we wear it, we just do. I did explain the difference between the Ma