Historically, Whitworth has followed the tradition of having departmental colored tassels, however this year, graduates will be wearing uniformly colored tassels. The different colored tassels distinguish the different disciplines recognized at the graduation ceremony. The different colored tassels are often associated with the pride of graduating with a specific area of study.

Choosing to provide all graduates with a uniformly colored tassel overlooks the diverse areas of study Whitworth offers its students. Because all students must take similar gen-ed classes, like Core, studying different disciplines can provide the gen-ed classes with a more diverse perspective. Providing students with the same colored tassel diminishes the benefits of the diverse areas of study Whitworth offers.

At an liberal arts institution like Whitworth, focusing on different areas of study is encouraged. Providing students with departmental colored tassel allows a graduate to feel pride for their specific area of study. Especially for the majors that do not have as many participants, having a different colored tassel can bring awareness and attention to the qualifications of each major.

“I am not just graduate from Whitworth, I am a graduate from the School of Education,” senior Margo Jensen said.

While departmental tassels may offer a sense of pride to the graduating students, there may be some who feel overlooked or left out of this system. For example, math majors don’t have their own color, and are either grouped with the science majors or the liberal arts majors. In the same way, some majors may feel as though their tassel’s color does not accurately reflect their field of study. Art majors are given the color “drab,” which doesn’t necessarily reflect the major, which is often associated with many different colors.

Although there are differing opinions, there are students who don’t have a preference of whether or not tassels are uniform or reflect a specific department. The color of a tassel may be considered insignificant to the major and area of study of a student.

“It would have been cool to have some kind of differentiation to reflect 4 years of study, but it’s just a tassel,” said senior, Kylie Guenther.

There are many benefits and drawbacks of the decision to implement uniformly colored tassels. For some students, it may be a relief to wear a more appealing colored tassel than they were assigned. For others, it may feel diminishing to their area of study. Departmental colored tassels reflect the diverse perspectives that Whitworth values. Distinguishing the different areas of study at the graduation ceremony may bring a sense of pride to students who value the contributions of their specific field to the Whitworth’s liberal arts program.

Editorials in the “In the Loop” section reflect the majority opinion of the Editorial Board, comprised of five editors.