2020 COMMENCEMENT

114 CLASS OF 2020 somewhat fuller and bears no adornment. The sleeves are oblong in shape and open at the wrist, with the rear part of the oblong square cut while the front edge has a cutaway arc. The doctor’s gown is more elaborate, with velvet panels down the front and around the neck of the garment. The sleeves are bell-shaped at the end and have three bars of the same material as the front panels at the upper portion of the arm. It is cut rather fully and may be ornamental in color. The mortarboard or Oxford-type cap has been adopted throughout most universities in the United States, although tams have become increasingly fashionable to denote holders of the doctoral degree. Colored tassels are usually worn by holders of the bachelor’s and master’s degrees. These denote the field of learning. The color, indeed the flamboyance, of academic dress undoubtedly adds to the sense of occasion at academic ceremonies. But as its historical roots show, it has a much deeper significance. It is an outward sign of the universality of universities, and of their responsibility for certain timeless values essential to the freedom of inquiry: tolerance of alternative views and courage in maintaining one’s own tirelessness in the pursuit of truth and the free exchange of knowledge. Its wearing marks also the responsibility of the new graduate to maintain and uphold these ideals. These fundamentals of academic freedom have not been threatened in this country for more than 200 years, but the importance attached to the donning of traditional academic dress was underlined in recent years by scholars from Central and Eastern Europe; during the Cold War, their use of academic robes became a symbol of their refusal to be dominated completely by political forces and the state, and symbolized their persistent links to the worldwide community of scholars. Thus, the wearing of academic dress should be seen not simply as a sign of achievement, but as a symbol of the responsibility that falls on all members of universities.