The Oshkosh Student Organization passed a resolution to expand regulations for honor cords worn by graduates so that one policy can be established to govern exactly which organizations and student groups can wear specialized cords.
Austyn Boothe, president of OSA, said this new policy will recognize students for their hard work in the clubs and organizations that they are a part of.
“OSA thought that having a policy like this would really reward students and acknowledge all of their hard work just not from the academic side but having good academic standing at graduation and knowing your hard work paid off,” Boothe said.
According to Boothe, the academic policy isn’t enforced for the cords and having student-shared governance on this policy would makes the cords feel more personal rather than assigned.
“It would be nice to have a policy and an academic policy that is representative of the academic achievements that they’re trying to acknowledge and to have an involvement one as well,” Boothe said. “We represent the students who wear these honor cords.”
This new policy has passed through senate and assembly, Boothe said.
Boothe said the next step is to get the policy officially finalized.
“The policy that was passed by the OSA is the calling for the academic policy and for student-shared governance to be included in a new policy and doesn’t lay out any specifics of what the policy will look like so we are still in the early stages of forming a policy like this.” Boothe said.
Senior Susan Fochs will be graduating this year with a degree in Human Services Leadership. According to Fochs, honor cords are a great expression to showcase a student’s hard work.
“I think cords are a fun and great expression to showcase your hard work and accomplishments outside of the classroom at graduation,” Fochs said. “I’m always super interested to know what all the different colors and patterns mean.”
Freshman Gwyn Truman said she believes more groups should be allowed to have honor cords.
“It shows how hard you worked in college,” Truman said.
Fochs said the cords will be a great way for students who will graduate in the future to showcase their college career and make graduation a truly unique experience.
Fochs said she can’t wait to wear her sorority’s stole when she accepts her diploma.
“It’s a cool representation of your last four or five years on campus and all that you’ve done to make your mark on campus and things you’ve been involved in,” Fochs said. “I’m super pumped to wear my Gamma Phi Beta stole and other cords in the next few months.”