By Emily Cousins | Staff Writer
Student government is lending free caps and gowns to students who want to attend graduation but cannot afford them on their own.
Boerne senior Sutton Houser, student body president, said student government purchased 10 caps and gowns on a trial basis for the program this year, and they hope to expand the number they purchase next year to take financial stress off of more students.
“So students email me, we work to see if we have their size,” Houser said. “Afterwards, we just asked the students to bring it back the day after graduation. All they need to do at that point now, after they pick it up from our offices, is just go buy a tassel and stole. Both of those are significantly less expensive than the whole package. It’s been going well so far, and we love just being able to give back to students in this way.”
Boerne junior student senator Marissa Watson said some students choose not to attend graduation because of the high expense of a cap and gown they will only
wear once.
“I don’t want any students to choose not to do that just because they can’t afford to buy a gown,” Watson said. “Hopefully this will encourage that and just get those graduating seniors more excited about their accomplishments because they shouldn’t be held back from being able to celebrate because of their
financial situation.”
Watson said this program will continue every semester.
“I know we have alumni looking to donate to this project, which is something we weren’t even considering,” Watson said. “But it’s really exciting because it’s just supporting it even more, and we can buy more gowns for more people to wear. It’s a great thing, and I think it’s just going to keep growing.”
Houser said he hopes students leaders will continue to build on this project for years to come and that any alumni looking to donate to this cause can email him at Sutton_Houser1@baylor.edu.
“Keep your ears out for a friend, whether it’s this year or next year, who might be going through a difficult year financially and see if you can lend a helping hand and be aware of this resource for students,” Houser said. “We want to share this resource for students so that we can help more people. … We need the students’ help and the student body’s help making sure this information about this program is given to students who need it most.”
