[psusue]

My high school only allowed NHS stoles as regalia if you were graduating. Nothing else was permitted. And the way they did it would have solved the "I stole my sister's cords" problem because our homeroom teachers had a list with who was in NHS and they gave out the stoles and we had to return them afterward. We also did this with our gowns, which I appreciated because who needs those things afterward? We actually couldn't get our diplomas until we handed back our gowns, so that was an effective method.

Penn State still does not allow any type of graduation regalia, however people still wear it. I just went to graduation last week and I remember seeing a few DST stoles and remembered them because I thought that they looked sharp. But I also get the idea that graduation is a time for uniformity, since you are all getting essentially the same honor. They only have people with honors/high honors/highest honors stand up at the ceremony, and that's it. And the speakers could be famous people (ex: there was an author as the Liberal Arts college speaker, but at the Health and Human Development college graduation it was our woman's basketball coach, so someone in-house.) But with upwards of 10 graduations in one weekend with about a thousand students in each, every one of them can't go all out. They did away with the "main" graduation years ago, although I don't know why.

PS- Decorating your cap is ridiculous, and beach balls are altogether unnecessary.