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CMU faculty and students mandated to don academic regalia starting 2019/2020
Senate passes motion to institute new campus dress code
Some keen students on CMU's Shaftesbury Campus get the jump on the upcoming requirement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Winnipeg, April 1, 2019 – Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) Senate has passed a motion to institute academic dress as required day-wear for all CMU faculty and students. Faculty will don their robes and the hoods entitled to them by their credentials, while students will wear plain robes until receiving the appropriate hoods upon graduation.
Members of the Senate praised the action, stating that it realigns CMU with a legacy of the University that is critical to this day and age. Registrar Stephanie Penner, who has been spotted around CMU already proudly wearing her regalia, firmly stands by the Senate's decision. "The various academic dress denotes official status, it orients people towards higher learning."
Penner cited the Senate's consensus that this is the right step amidst a critical juncture in history that will require an increased need for unity, an orientation towards wisdom, and sincere consideration regarding the ecological and social impacts of all that we do, including dress.
When asked about these changes, Vice President Academic, Jonathan Dueck, was thrilled. "Robes remind us of both community and of the numinous," he says. "They recall, or even re-member, the medieval university, of living together, eating together, thinking together, of academic community. This is a historical way to think about robes."
He continues: "But for new students who have grown up with stories of Hogwarts, they remind us of the possibilities of academic community in the modern world—and the truly special, unusual things we can achieve when we work together today. Robes don't replace blue jeans or t-shirts. Instead they remind us of what we are doing together in university: we are becoming community and in so doing we're holding out the possibility of changing ourselves and the world."
Penner comments that through this initiative CMU is both following in ancient footsteps and paving a way forward for the future: "When you stop to think about it, it just makes sense with who we are as an institution. This initiative will reduce student and faculty contributions to clothing waste and will further our commitment to buying local." The robes proposed will be sourced by a Winnipeg company.
Student Council President Esther Hardy has seen a way forward for the modern take on academic regalia as well. "When consulted on this change, members of student leadership expressed that wearing the robes would be met with enthusiasm if students can wear comfortable clothing underneath their robe," she reports. "In addition, I think these robes would look great with Blundstones! The question of whether embroidery will be allowed is a hot topic in StuCo right now."
Academic robes will be available at CommonWord Bookstore and Resource Centre. More information will be released at Academic Forum on Monday, April 1.
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