Oak Park and River Forest High School graduating seniors will be receiving their diplomas in the traditional graduation attire of white dresses for females and black suits for males — with the option of black/dark pants suits or dresses/skirts available to female students for the first time in school history.
But, based on the testimonies of many students, teachers, administrators and board members, even that modified traditional option, which some say relies on a prejudicial and outmoded conception of gender roles, could be headed for the door in the not too distant future.
Most school board members at a March 24 board meeting agreed with student proponents of the cap and gown option that the decision on graduation attire should not have been subject to a majority vote.
The decision comes after an unprecedented runoff vote, during which seniors were allowed to choose between wearing caps and gowns and wearing the slightly modified traditional garb. The runoff vote was implemented after neither of the original three options — the first round of voting, held in early March, included an option to wear the traditional attire without modifications — earned at least a 50 percent majority.
Sixty-one percent of seniors who participated in the runoff vote, which was held between March 21 and March 23, voted for the modified traditional option and 39 percent of seniors voted for the cap and gown option. Caps and gowns actually garnered the most votes of the three options in the original survey, with 42 percent of seniors choosing that option.
A little more than half, or 442, of the 805 graduating seniors participated in the first survey, while 389 students participated in the runoff survey — a 12 percent decrease.
