Prior to the Class of 2024, Cherry Hill High School East graduates could choose between two colors to wear on graduation day: red and white. Since East’s most recent graduation in June, all East graduates have been required to follow a new dress code. 

Starting in 2024, red caps and gowns are mandated for all East graduation ceremonies, no exceptions. White caps and gowns are now a thing of the past, leaving many upperclassmen confused. While the change brings inclusivity, it was very abrupt. Why did the change occur, and is it a good idea?

The alterations of the dress code have been long overdue. It was decided decades ago that girls should wear white, and boys should wear red to graduation. That mindset is very outdated, and giving the graduates different colors based on gender doesn’t make much sense upon inspection. Graduation is all about the seniors having one last day together, so why should they be separated?

Debbie Barr, East’s Secretary of Activities, shared her input with Eastside, stating, “It was due time to [change the dress code], being that we are now in a time where there is no reason to gender a gown for a graduation.” 

The idea that males should dress in one color and females in another is extremely outworn. 

Another motivation for the change was following the lead of other nearby schools. Numerous schools surrounding East have gravitated towards making all graduation gowns one color. 

“There are other schools who have started doing this too. Cherry Hill West made the change to [wearing] all purple, and I believe Lenape does theirs all one color. There are schools all around doing this now just because it was an old fashioned tradition to gender gowns,” Barr said.

Furthermore, the new dress code helps to lessen confusion among students. In recent years, there has been an option on whether to wear red or white to graduation, and due to this, many upperclassmen were unsure on which color to wear. 

 “Originally, it was girls [usually] wearing white and boys wearing red. Then it was choose whatever, but typically people who identified as female wore white, and those who identified as male wore red….When we gave the option, it became more confusing [which gown to pick],” Barr said. 

When given the option to choose, some students accidentally chose the color they did not want to wear. Come graduation day, students who made the wrong choice were very unhappy and requested to switch their gown. 

Not only did this cause confusion among students, but it was also a big hassle for the graduation coordinators. On top of everything else that comes with a hectic graduation day, the staff had to attempt to find extra gowns. This was a huge burden for everyone involved. Making the gowns one cohesive color alleviates a lot of stress.

There are some who believe that the change in graduation attire is not needed.  Their argument is that altering the dress code “breaks tradition” and that the red and white gowns have been around too long to change. But, that mindset is simply not feasible, and not all traditions have to be preserved. 

Maintaining both red and white graduation gowns causes too many issues to justify allowing the option. Not only is the old dress code extremely outdated, but it causes an influx of confusion among students and staff.

All in all, the change of the graduation dress code to solely red caps and gowns negates large problems. The new rule helps both graduates and staff have a better experience. The policy change relieves a lot of unneeded stress and makes the whole graduation process smoother.