A fellow classmate of mine from the New Trier class of 1954 sent me the article that appeared in the New Trier News regarding the school’s graduation keeping sexist traditions alive. The article states that a tradition that has been established over 100 years ago isn’t in keeping with the times.
Traditions often represents history, consistency, strength and symbolism. To do away with traditions should require a serious action, statement or event that is illegal, harmful or not trivial. Certainly, graduation attire does not fall into that category nor is a boy escorting a girl to the stage a terrible or harmful thing as alleged in the article. These are good traditions, established a century ago. One of the reasons that New Trier is a great high school and different from the others is because it embraces tradition. To draw a negative parallel between what happened years ago and today is absurd.
The article states that a girl wearing a white gown in the past represented what society had in store for her: marriage. So, we are to understand that the modern-day girl is relegated to the same fate? Or that clothes most graduates wear have a sexist origin as the article states? As is so typical in today’s academic world, New Trier caved into the request that boys not accompany girls to the stage because such an act perpetrated the gender stereotypes and standards of long ago. According to the article a better attire would be caps and gowns because they don’t make such a stark distinction between men and women. There happens to be a stark distinction between the two if you haven’t noticed. Should we all look alike? Be unisex.
Everything in the woke ideology evolves around sex, gender, discrimination, perceived wrongs or victimization. Don’t we have bigger problems to solve than graduation attire and perceived gender inequality? The war in the Ukraine, antisemitism, the riots at college campuses around the country, Russia aggressions in other areas along with China’s menacing threats deserve our immediate attention.
I hope we are better than this. Don’t let petty woke ideology infect our long-standing great traditions.
Lisa Keipert
May 20, 2024 at 8:35 pm
Apparently the writer is unaware that it is no longer 1954. This article is downright gross. Anyway…welcome to the 2020s lady. Oh, and for the record, I will continue to be WOKE!
Mary
May 26, 2024 at 4:58 pm
You obviously didn’t read the article closely enough. A lady didn’t write it.
And specifically what is gross about it? The war in Ukraine, anti semitism, college riots….?
Sophia
May 20, 2024 at 7:12 am
I don’t understand what the author thinks is “great” about the specific traditions related to graduation. The idea that “to do away with traditions should require a serious action, statement or event that is illegal, harmful or not trivial” is a bit much. There should be a more meaningful reason to keep a tradition around, other than that it was a tradition established a long time ago (when society was different).
Fundamentally, why should students — focused on academics — be differentiated by gender? Yes, men and women are different. What does that have to do with their achievements in education? A cap and gown is also traditional.
Eric
May 20, 2024 at 10:40 pm
Sounds like the writer from the 50s had a traditional experience and has no conception on what it’s like to be someone outside of the majority group who attends NT.
Susanna Silverman
May 19, 2024 at 8:02 pm
“ the riots at college campuses around the country”
Zionist detected, opinion rejected. Freedom of speech is not equal to rioting.
Positions like this will bring this country to the ground.
Jess
May 19, 2024 at 7:06 pm
👏👏👏