Commencement

American graduations, from preschool through Ivy League doctorates, represent highly ceremonial public rites of passage. Typical features include academic robes (modeled on European ones), processions of faculty and students, music, prayers based in civic Christianity and speeches; graduations are also accompanied by rounds of parties and gifts. Friends and family attend these events even in early years, although young children may treat them as costumed play-acting. By high school, speakers, usually drawn from distinguished graduates or local celebrities, take on more importance, while the presence of religion has become a debate for many public institutions. High-school graduations also form part of a constellation of events, from the prom (a formal dance based on a romantic theme from movies or popular culture) to “socially accepted” disobedience (e.g. wearing inappropriate clothing to school). Graduation gifts and opportunities thereafter reveal stratification these communal rituals deny.

Colleges and universities expand graduation events, competing for well-known speakers via honorary degrees and/or fees up to thousands of dollars. More than 2,500 speakers are needed annually to please parents, contributors and media. Politicians may use such opportunities as campaign appearances; presidential candidates and their spouses receive particular media attention (with military academies especially visible sites for incumbents). Other coveted speakers include intellectuals, artists, journalists, social and ethnic leaders, and philanthropists/donors. Celebrities including Muppet Kermit the Frog, also prove entertaining alternatives. Commencement talks range from autobiography to national and world affairs. Generally however, these inspirational observations demand special responsibility from the group whose new maturity and citizenship the ceremony recognizes. Hence, the theme of beginnings (commencement) mingles with the ambivalent emotions of ending and leaving.

Large and highly established institutions foster distinctive programs, regalia and surrounding events. Some, for example, hold speeches on a separate day or break into component units to provide intimacy and individual recognition in conferring degrees (in English or, rarely in Latin for the doctorate). Doctoral robes may have distinctive colors—crimson for Harvard, blue for Yale, etc.—although without the elaboration of many European institutions. Religious rituals may accompany these events too, whatever the affiliation of the institution.

The image of this rite of passage is prominent in literature and movies, whether The Graduate (1967), the prom chaos of Carrie (1976), or many television series (e.g. Beverly Hills 90210). It represents less a dedication to education within American life than a culture of recognition that democratizes many honors (even as institutions and individuals set themselves apart). Hence the prestigious model of university graduation has spread to younger age groups and to more limited programs (such as job-training programs or self-improvement courses). Even non-human settings like canine obedience schools may imitate this form, stressing the notions of individual achievement and group recognition as much as divisive special merit. The latter, nonetheless, comes out in the distinctions among programs and rewards thereafter.

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