Commencement Dress: White Out or White In?

It has been a long-standing tradition that the senior class must wear white at Sanford’s graduation, yet some students in the class of 2023 disagree. A recent survey reports that 52% of this year’s graduating class would rather wear a cap and gown.

“When I think of graduation, I think of a cap and gown,” said Kendall Giordano, class of 2023.

But according to the administration, the white attire is not going anywhere. Sanford will continue to wear white to honor the tradition regardless of the select students opinion.

“This is a tradition that Sanford has had since the start of graduating classes, so it is a tradition that we wouldn’t want to break,” said Abbi Smith , Head of Upper School.

Yet, Smith did agree she would want to hear more from the students who dislike the white and “want to understand what about the cap and gown feels attractive.”

Giordano makes it clear that “here at Sanford we don’t do a lot of the traditional senior things, for example, senior parking spots or painting the jeans. I want to experience one traditional thing, and that is the cap and gowns”.

Although wearing white is traditional as well. ​​Wearing white at graduation is a tradition that has been around for centuries for many schools.. In many cultures, white is a symbol of purity, innocence, and new beginnings, correlating it to graduation ceremonies. This opinion aligns with some faculty here at Sanford.

“I do think that the graduating class looks really sharp when they are up on the stage getting their diplomas,” said Tom Whipple, a teacher of 28 years at Sanford. Whipple also supports that this tradition has been continuing since his time here.

Smith agreed that when she was a senior in high school, she would have liked the more individual feel of wearing white, as her graduation class was much larger. This relates to the 36% of this year’s senior class who agreed with Smith and Whipple that white is better, leaving 12% of the class of 2023 with no strong opinion on the matter.

Regardless of the majority of the votes, the class of 2023 will graduate in white on June 9th 2023 to honor Sanford’s tradition and be a part of Sanford history.