THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY,MAY 10.2007
GRADUATION
3
WHAT TO WEAR
Stay stylish while walking the hill Find balance between comfortable, dressy to look your best, stand out from crowd
BY JASON BAKER
The most important thing about graduation isn't just having your family watch you pick up your degree, it's what to wear underneath your cap and gown. Here are some ideas on how to stay in style while walking down the hill.
The outfit under the gown:
The ceremony
is outdoors in May. Chances are the weather will be hot, so it's not a good idea to wear something dressy. Men should wear shorts and a polo, and women a nice top and skirt or nice shorts.
Overland Park senior, plans to dress to impress. "I'm going to wear an all-cotton summer strapless dress; the less cloth the better," O'Neil said. "I want to look nice and presentable but not dressy. I'll be sweating anyway."
Susan O'Neil,
Overland Park
The key is to find a balance. You don't want to look like you're going to prom or like you just rolled out of bed five minutes before the ceremony.
could easily recognize me in that huge crowd. It was pretty sweet." Spector said.
Nicholas Williamson, 2006 graduate, dressed up like Chancellor Robert Henmenway. "I shaved my head to look like I was balding and covered it with a huge straw hat," he said.
Stand out in the crowd:
Playing music can also get attention. Casey Thornburgh, 2006 grad.
Footwear is another issue. Flip-flops or plain tennis shoes are both acceptable. Remember, you have to walk along Memorial Drive and down the hill, so wearing high heels would be not a good idea. The key is to find a balance. You don't want to look like you're going to prom or like you just rolled out of bed five minutes before the ceremony.
With thousands of KU students graduating, it's hard for students to stand out so their friends and family can identify them from the stands. Some students have discovered ways to get noticed. Neil Spector, 2006 graduate from Buffalo Grove, Ill., wore his Michael Jordan basketball jersey at his graduation.
"Once I got into the stadium I unzipped my gown so my parents
uate, walked down the hill to her own beat.
"I wore cowboy boots and walked down the Hill playing Vitamin C's "Graduation Song" and Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" on one of those iPod radios," she said. "It was a
blast."
Styling your cap:
If you think the plain cap looks boring, attach a Jayhawk to spruce it up. If you want to keep it simple, write your name on top so people know who you are. O'Neil put her nickname on her cap when she graduated from high school and plans to do something similar for this year's commencement.
Or you can come up with an idea that is unique and original. Zak Beasley, Kansas City, Mo., senior, plans on writing "Arms I Sing," which is the opening lines of Virgil's "Aenid." Beasley said there was a reason behind it.
"Because even though graduation is the end of college, it is the start of the rest of my life," he said.
Of course there are many ways to be stylish while you make your walk down the hill. But remember, look nice but comfy at the same time.
— Edited by Carissa Pedigo
》 CAMPANILE
Keep the tradition Customs, superstitions surround bell tower
BY JASON BAKER
The Campanile, the bell tower that sits atop the hill near Marvin's Grove, overlooks the University of Kansas and Lawrence. But in May, this World War II memorial, built in 1951, is essential for the traditional commencement ceremony. There are a few traditions and superstitions about graduating that involve the Campanile.
Setting up for the big day - The commencement ceremony is always held on the Sunday after finals week at Memorial Stadium. From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on that day traffic on Memorial Drive is prohibited. The ban starts at midnight Saturday.
Walking through the Campanile — The ceremony is held at 2:30 in the afternoon, and 30 minutes prior to the start, the KU graduates assemble and line up along Memorial Drive. The graduates will walk toward the ceremony in pairs and the walk through both the Campanile doors down the path that leads to Memorial Stadium for the beginning of commencement. While they walk down the hill, it is traditional for the graduate's family and friends to stand on the hill to take pictures and or film them while they are walking down.
》 Bells chirming - It is a tradition on graduation day as the students walk through the Campanile, that the bells on top of the tower play all afternoon.
Superstitions of the Campanile:
»Walking through the Campanile early - The legend says it's bad luck if a student walks
» Kissing under the Campanile — Legend has it that if you kiss your significant other in the Campanile, then that will be the person you marry. But there are two options: one is you kiss them anytime during the day; the other is kissing them while the bells are ringing. Whichever you choose, kissing your honey in the Campanile could lead to getting hitched.
through the Campanile before they graduate, because he or she will not graduate if he or she does. If you do enter the campanile, leave from the same door and you still have a chance to graduate.
Edited by Ryan Schneider
So before you continue on the tradition, here are some dos and dorts of walking down the hill:
Dos and Don'ts
Get there early — That way you wont be the very last person to walk.
- Wear comfort shoes
  - You have to walk a lot to get to the ceremony and you want to be focused on that, not the blisters on your feet
Pair up with someone you like — it makes walking down the hill more fun.
Do:
BY RACHEL BURCHFIELD
It was a normal day in Melissa Horen's Public Opinion class when Marlesa Roney and Ann Ewesole, chairwomen of the Chancellor's Student Awards committee, walked through the door.
》 STUDENT RECOGNITION
Don't:
Nine seniors receive awards
Horen, an Overland Park senior, remembered that Roney and Eversole announced they had a very special award to give out. Horen was sure the award was going to go to one of the other student leaders in her class.
Recipients of Chancellor's Student Awards will sit on stage during commencement
Walk before you graduate — It's a superstition, but it also takes the fun out of it.
Take forever to walk down — Remember there are several thousand other students behind you in line.
Instead, it was Horen who was presented with the Rusty Leffel Concerned Student Award, becoming one of nine seniors who earned a Chancellor's Student Award this year.
"When they said my name I was
a very intense process, and we go through the nomination materials very carefully"
The seniors will be honored at a
very shocked," she said. "I was very honored. I'd never had anything like that happen to me in class before."
A w ar d recipients were chosen from a selection committee, who chose the winners from university-wide nominations submitted by students, faculty and staff. Eversole said the selection
"When they said my name I was shocked. I was very honored. I'd never had anything like that happen to me in class."
process was highly competitive. "Everyone in the nomination pool was certainly outstanding," she said. "Selecting the winners is
process was highly competitive.
MELISSA HOREN Award recipient
reception hosted by the chancellor May 19. They will then sit on the platform with the chancellor during commencement May 20. Their portraits will also be in the commencement program.
"These nine
Other award recipients are Nick Sterner, Shawnee, recipient of the Rusty Leffel Concerned Student Award; Scott Ferguson, Overland Park, recipient of the Caryl K. Smith Student Leader Award; Elaine Jardon, Overland Park, and Nathan Ladd, Effingham, both recipients of the Agnes Wright Strickland Award; Nina Mosallaei, Overland Park, recipient of the Donald K. Alderson Memorial Award; Andrew Olive, Lincoln, Neb., and Michelle Rissky, Tecumseh, both recipients of the Class of 1913 Award; and Michelle Tran, Derby, recipient of the Alexis F. Dillard Student Involvement Award.
These nine award recipients really are wonderful representatives of their graduating class and the undergraduate student body," Eversole said.
Edited by Mark Vierthaler
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