'A sea of happy faces' - Harvard Gazette

Harvard’s 375th Commencement featured traditional robes, badges, and caps, with many graduates adding distinctive accessories around their necks. Ribbons and stoles displayed pride and affinity through symbols tied to first-generation status, countries of origin, and group membership such as the Harvard Law Review. Some stoles were personal, including one with Our Lady of Guadelupe and the Polish flag representing family heritage, and another with a batik pattern representing Singapore through vibrant floral imagery. A Divinity School graduate wore a scale icon to reflect study of slavery in Christianity and a focus on justice and liberation. Graduates also expressed gratitude for classmates who helped source stoles that matched their backgrounds.

"Commencement, of course, comes with a pretty strict dress code: Robes, badges, and caps are all imbued with centuries of tradition and institutional significance. But many new-minted graduates find ways to accessorize around the margins - most notably, around their necks. Everywhere were ribbons and stoles of significance draped over robes. Many were distributed by student groups to represent pride and affinity: first-generation status, countries of origin, or membership in, say, the Harvard Law Review. Others were more personal."

"On one end of Daniel Kocot's stole was Our Lady of Guadelupe, the patron saint of Mexico, on the other, the Polish flag, representing both halves of his family tree. "My parents surprised me with it," said Kocot, who is from Chicago and is graduating with a B.S. in electrical engineering. He particularly liked the colorful serape gradient woven in: "It's traditional in blankets in Mexico, but it's integrated into the stole itself.""

"Christian Liu, leaving Currier House with a degree in computer science, wore a batik pattern to represent his native Singapore: a looping network of vibrant floral imagery against a navy background, like an electric paisley. Sarah Adegbite's featured a scale icon, rather than the other option, a star - even though she's a Divinity School graduate, not a lawyer. "I studied the history of slavery in Christianity, how enslaved people encountered ritual and sacramental practice," Adegbite said. "So, thinking about justice and liberation has been a big part of my time at the Divinity School.""

Read at Harvard Gazette