Trowing your cap at graduation is a time commemorated culture, but at one university in the uk its time has just come to an quit. The college of East Anglia has banned throwing mortarboard caps atcommencement, claiming that the practice is too risky. And weirdly they could have a factor — it turns out humans certainly can get injured from those matters.
The university, which is placed in Norwich inside the united kingdom, emailed students telling them there would be no cap throwing at the graduation ceremony, mentioning that throwing the caps hasbrought about several student injuries within the beyond few years. Bizarrely, though, they’resupplying to present college students the possibility to mime throwing the caps during picture takingand have the school Photoshop them in. I think the provide is technically a nice compromise, however one way or the other, it form of simply makes the whole lot just appear even more unusual than it already is.
Strangest of all, but, is the fact that there virtually pretty few are documented instances of human beingsgetting injured by way of mortarboard caps. In fact, in 1984 a student who changed into struck in the attention with a cap attempted to sue Yale university, even though the case changed into unsuccessful. In at least one case, which came about all of the way lower back in 1979 however is harrowing sufficientto make you want to duck next time you are at a commencement rite, a teenage woman was struck in the attention for the duration of a excessive school commencement and suffered “commotio retinae withdamage to the retinal pigment epithelium and macular hollow formation.” this is simply as bad as it sounds; the incident left the student with everlasting harm.
appreciably, but, there does not appear to be any proof that mortarboard caps frequently do any severeharm to graduates or innocent bystanders — even though how you‘d do a observe on this type ofelement, i’m now not certain. nonetheless, East Anglia is not the best faculty that has taken to banning the exercise.
So is that this a case of colleges being overprotective? Or are faculties just acknowledging that not riskingdamage is extra crucial than a symbolic gesture? it is an trouble it’s still… up in the air.
i will see myself out.
