On Tuesday, graduates of SUNY Oswego had the opportunity to purchase their cap and gown for the ceremony on May 17. The only problem? It was severely overpriced.
As a senior at SUNY Oswego, I am required to wear the mandatory black cap and gown, just like everyone else. If I want to walk that stage, I have to wear the cap and gown. Which is absolutely no problem for me. Actually, it’s part of the experience, which is why I don’t mind wearing it at all.
But I do mind paying $91 for it. It’s not a Michael Kors designer cap and gown and the golden honors society cord isn’t made from silk rope that’s exported from India. So why is our graduation attire so expensive? Why does the school insist on squeezing more money out of us? Why can’t we at least rent our gowns?
We all deserve to walk across the stage. I’ve spent countless hours perfecting papers, completing assignments and sending out emails to professors making sure that my GPA is where it needs to be.
We’ve all spent sleepless nights in the 24-hour room in the library or pulled all-nighters in our dorms or living rooms. For those of you who are in the honors programs, you invest so much time and money into your courses so that you can distinguish yourself from everybody else on graduation day. You deserve to show off your gold rope.
But, you have to pay extra for it. All that money for these courses and you can’t even get a piece of polyester-dyed rope included in your cap and gown package?
We did receive a “free” T-shirt in that cap and gown package though. For $91, that T-shirt doesn’t feel free.
After I graduate, I will face so many loans that need to paid off in a timely fashion, as well as bills, all while handling a grownup job. The least our college can do it allow us to rent, or even purchase, our cap and gowns for a reasonable price, instead of squeezing the last penny out of us.