Hear ye, hear ye fellow Rams; imagine hearing the classic pomp-and-circumstance as we walk down the center of the football field in our green and gold gowns, decorated with sashes representing our achievements and the commitments we made to Temple City High School, topped off with personalized caps of our own.
When our time at TCHS comes to an end, each student should be able to portray the individual they’ve become by being allowed to decorate their graduation caps. If the person you’ve become is a crazed fan of musicals, “Don’t Throw Away Your Shot” at creating the perfect cap. This is why I find the rule against students personalizing their caps absurd, seeing as I’ll be the third daughter out of the four sisters to graduate from TCHS. Originally, my family and I planned to add the graduating years of all my sisters, including myself, on each corner of the graduation cap that has been passed down for several years. But unfortunately, due to the rules, I am unable to go through with the tradition my family had hoped to start. After seeing our neighboring schools such as San Marino and La Cañada receive the opportunity to decorate their caps, it’s about time we also allow students express themselves and let something other than our diplomas shine.
I also believe that all campus organizations deserve to wear a sash or flower that represents all of our individual accomplishments on graduation day. As of right now, embellishments are only designated for four groups. By all means, keep these traditions, but why not welcome in more groups and accept our other associations as well?
Whether it’s a sash, flower, lei or a cord, there should be some sort of symbol for organizations that deserve it. However, some forget that while our year continues to become filled with unforgettable memories, they are only made possible by hard-working students that we can always count on to make school as fulfilling as can be.
This includes organizations such as Choreo, who put in long hours of work to showcase their routines for their concerts and several other events, or Yearbook who spends an entire year creating and capturing all the memories we’ve made as a school. These groups along with many others, deserve a proper recognition on graduation day.
Some people may prefer the look of being uninformed in order to represent equality; however, after four years of trying to establish our own unique selves, our individualities should not be ignored on graduation day.
It’s one thing to participate and be involved, but a completely different thing when our dedication and hard work we put into all our activities goes into thin air, or on a flimsy piece of paper saying “Congrats, you did it.” It would be much more memorable if every student is recognized on graduation day, especially if they contributed numerous hours to the school. To be able to wear a sash representing the years you dedicated to a sport, a performing arts group or any type of student run organization would give us pride.
It’s about time that we step outside of our comfort zone by welcoming change, and making our last memory as high school students as meaningful as possible.
TCHS School Newspaper