Ria Beri ‘27
EE Editor-in-Chief
In recent months, conversations surrounding graduation regalia and senior recognition have circulated among students and staff at Trumbull High School. Questions about how distinctions such as honor society cords, medals, and other awards will be represented during commencement have prompted discussion about the role of individual recognition in a ceremony that brings the entire graduating class together.
To better understand the conversations taking place, Maura Brunt ‘27 and I spoke directly with Principal Todd Manuel about discussions among school administration and staff, the reasoning behind them, and what students can expect moving forward. Manuel clarified that the discussion is NOT based on the belief that students join honor societies simply for the cords, but rather on how the growing number of distinctions shapes the overall graduation experience.
One topic of discussion has been the gradual expansion of graduation regalia. What initially centered on honor society cords has grown to include an increasing number of distinctions, including the Seal of Biliteracy, athletic captain recognition, unapproved club affiliations, and various medals. As the number of distinctions continues to grow, questions have emerged about how they should be represented during the ceremony and whether the increasing number of decorations takes away from the shared experience of commencement.
For example, students could potentially purchase honor society cords online for organizations they are not members of or wear medals from athletic teams they participated in years earlier simply to accumulate more decorations. While these situations could be addressed through checks and requests to remove unauthorized items before the ceremony, enforcing such restrictions on graduation day could create unnecessary confrontations. Manuel explained that graduation should ultimately be a happy occasion rather than a time spent addressing disagreements over what students are wearing.
Beyond the appearance of graduation regalia, Manuel emphasized the importance of what commencement represents. With graduating classes at Trumbull regularly exceeding 500 students, graduation is one of the few occasions throughout students’ four years of high school when the entire class comes together. He believes the approximately 75-minute ceremony should serve as a shared celebration of that accomplishment, rather than an opportunity for students to compare individual distinctions. His vision is for commencement to be a moment when the entire graduating class can set aside their differences, come together, and celebrate a milestone they have all worked toward in their own ways.
However, this emphasis on unity does not mean individual accomplishments would go unrecognized. Already, students’ accomplishments are recognized in the graduation program, which is distributed to attendees and serves as a record of the graduating class. Honor society memberships, the Seal of Biliteracy, scholarships, and other awards are listed alongside students’ names, ensuring that their accomplishments are formally acknowledged without necessarily being displayed through additional regalia during the ceremony.
Manuel also clarified that a more uniform commencement would not prevent students from displaying their distinctions throughout the entirety of graduation day. Following the formal ceremony, when parents and families are invited onto the field, students can put on their appropriate cords, medals, and other recognitions for photographs and celebrations. Students may also personalize their mortar boards (the flat, square tops of graduation caps) with appropriate decorations reflecting their interests, accomplishments, or personalities.
Other schools in the surrounding area have adopted different approaches to graduation recognition. Some provide a single, general honor society cord to all students who belong to at least one honor society, regardless of how many organizations they are members of, while announcing each student’s individual honor society affiliations in the graduation program to ensure their varying levels of involvement are still recognized. Others allow students to wear their distinctions as long as they do not cover the gold emblem displayed at the front of every graduation gown. Some schools also provide all graduates with a shared item, such as a lei, allowing everyone to participate in a common graduation tradition while maintaining other forms of recognition. These examples demonstrate the different ways schools approach the balance between individual accomplishments and a unified commencement experience.
Most importantly, for the Class of 2027, all honor society cords will remain. Students graduating this year do not need to worry about losing the cords they have worked to earn. Discussions about how graduation distinctions may be represented are focused on finding a suitable approach for subsequent graduating classes, and no final solution has been established.
As these discussions continue, student input remains important in determining how graduation recognition should look in the coming years. Students with suggestions, concerns, or alternative ideas are encouraged to reach out to the Student Board of Education representatives Hifza Shaik (20200548@trumbullps.net) and Maura Brunt (2709004@trumbullps.net), or speak with their respective honor society advisors.
Ultimately, the conversation extends beyond what students wear across their shoulders at graduation. It is about creating a moment where an entire class, despite their individual stories and accomplishments, can come together, celebrate how far they have come, and share in the excitement of what lies ahead.
Feature Photo Courtesy: CT Insider