After months of school board meetings discussing the color of the graduation caps and gowns, Shaler Area superintendent Dr. Sean Aiken has finally come to the decision to keep the traditional blue and white cap and gown colors for the graduating class of 2022.

The only change this year will be on the selection form, which will no longer ask for a student’s gender and will allow the student to choose either a blue or white gown.

However, the district has decided to unify the gown colors for the graduating class of 2023 when all students will wear the same caps and gowns. It is not certain as to what the new gown will look like, but the dominant color will most likely be blue. Dr. Aiken described how this decision is based on timing.

“We looked at a lot of pros and cons. I think one of the reasons that we really came to this decision is that we like the idea of, at some point, transitioning to a singular gown and having it unified. I recognize that school districts don’t change fast, they change slow, so the best strategy is making decisions where we actually have time to digest it and plan moving forward,” he said.

This decision definitely didn’t come easily, with community members on both sides of the issue expressing their opinions at school board meetings, in letters to the school board, and in petitions on change.org.

However, senior class Vice-President Rebecca Beckas, who was involved in discussions because of her role in student government, is relieved that Dr. Aiken has come to this decision.

“I’m glad Dr. Aiken was willing to listen to student voices for an issue that directly affected them. I know it’s not the result that some of the school board and community members wanted, but I’m proud of the student government for standing up for what we believe in and making our voices heard, and there is promised change in the future for equality within our school district,” she said.

Dr. Aiken compared the issue of the graduation gowns to class rank, which was eliminated in 2020. It took many years to finally come to that decision, so he did not expect that this would be any different.

“I feel like school districts don’t operate by ripping off band-aids and jumping into decisions,” he said.