The original letter I sent to the principal of my high school when I was a senior in high school:
May 13, 1993
To: Principal
William Tennent High School
333 Centennial Road
Warminster, PA 18974
Subject: Graduation Ceremony Caps and Gowns
I am writing to you to express my concern over a subject that may have been overlooked until now, yet I feel it is a pressing issue that deals with equality. Specifically, the protocol of the graduation ceremony catches my attention.
Upon graduation at William Tennent High School, students don the traditional cap and gown. I, however, have always wondered why the men wear black and the women wear white. My concern lies with the symbolism behind this obvious segregation of gender.
Why don’t all students wear the same color? I have racked my brain trying to come up with an answer to this question. After all, the original purpose of the uniformity of the cap and gown was to represent that all students were equal, razing such barriers as class distinction and degrees of wealth. The poor and the rich, thus, became equal during the graduation ceremony. I ask for such uniformity among men and women.
My point seems obvious when posed under slightly different variables. It would be appalling if, let’s say, black students were required to wear blue gowns, white students required to wear green, or students of Asian descent to wear yellow. If such “color coding” were instated the school district would inevitably be identified as racist. I contend that the separation of the genders is not so different from the aforementioned scenario.
Furthermore, I question why one’s gender is even referred to. The halls of academia deal with one’s mental being and do not regard students on the basis of their sex. Personally, I have worked diligently through my years at Tennent under identical conditions as my male counterparts, and I will be graduating with the Class of 1993 among the top one percent of my class. Thus, after extensively exercising my mind, I find it to be a great indignity to be outwardly recognized for my gender, which is a factor of my being that theoretically should be inconsequential and irrelevant. Again, I ask why the separation?
If representing the school colors is the desired effect, then perhaps a random dispersal among which some men could wear white and some women could wear black would be more diplomatic. However, the schematics that are presently in effect may subliminally be sending the wrong message.
While I’m sure that this has been unintentional and merely viewed as the way things have always been, I ask you to seriously consider a change. While I realize that plans have already been set into motion for this upcoming graduation, perhaps the Class of 1994 will meet graduation dressed in colors that are more reflective of the ever-progressive times in which we live.
In today’s world, women still struggle for equality in many aspects of society, and hopefully every effort – no matter how small – will accumulate over the years to truly result in change. As we fast approach a new millennium, I ask you to lead William Tennent High School from the past into an enlightened future where men and women are both considered to be equal and symbolically represented as such.
Respectfully,
Jennifer L. Mintzer
Note: The article below was on the front page (below the fold) of The Intelligencer newspaper on the day of my graduation on June 18, 1993. It states that I cut short the interview with the reporter and did not want to be involved with the story. The reporter was not forthcoming as to WHY this was. The reporter called me for comment and asked if the newspaper could send a photographer to my house to get a photo of me. I was not keen to have this story be about ME, but rather about the issue. As such, I said I wanted to think about it and discuss that with my parents and that I would call him back. After 10 minutes, I called him back and said that I didn't feel comfortable with being photographed as the story would then be about ME, not about the ISSUE. The reporter at that point became insulting and confrontational to me and said "It sounds like you just talked to your principal and that's why you won't do it." I was disgusted at his tone and said "No, I'm quite capable of thinking for myself, thank you" and THAT'S when I cut the interview short. This wasn't a reporter I wanted to speak to. During his questioning of me, I got the distinct feeling he wanted me to give him a quote that was controversial and I did not give him the quote he apparently wanted. I was insulted at the way he spoke to me. The photo that was used of me in the story was my high school yearbook photo and was obtained without my permission.
Overall Outcome: This issue was instrumental in helping me to earn a full four-year scholarship to Ursinus College. I was in competition with several other students for the Steinbright Scholarship at Ursinus and was interviewed on campus along with four other students from Bucks County. I spoke about this issue to the scholarship committee as an example of leadership and they were impressed with my courage to speak up about something I believed in. I won the Steinbright Scholarship and this was the determining factor that led me to attend Ursinus. As for the outcome of graduation caps and gowns, nothing was changed. I was shocked to be met with such animus from people in my graduating class and the public in general that I was "ruining" graduation by speaking up. It was a lesson in the trials of feminism for me and I got the distinct feeling that a lot of people wanted me to "just shut up." This made me appreciate all people who stand up for what they believe in, especially in matters regarding fighting for equality. While this may be a trivial issue to some compared to more important issues, the underlying principle behind it is equality - equality for all people, regardless of race, sex or sexual orientation. I believe it is extremely important to speak up when one sees or is met with something that goes against equality for all people. It is also important to note that ALL of the teachers who sat on the stage during graduation wore BLACK caps and gowns, regardless of their gender. This clearly establishes that black caps and gowns is the color of those who hold power. It is the standard color. By putting women in white caps and gowns, this visually infers they are outside of that sphere. I used this incident in classes I taught (specifically Images of Women in the Media and Multicultural Images in the Media) to illustrate how visuals are used to perpetuate notions of "difference" and inequality.
Portion of my high school graduation ceremony where this article was referred to (go to the 4:33 minute mark)