African Violets to march at Commencement

Daisy Chain processional remains, Senior Councils collaborate

Anita Varma Editor in Chief

After several months of meetings, proposals, and discussions, the African Violets will march in the 2006 Commencement processional.

While many students have heard about the possibility of the African Violets joining the processional, Dean of the College Judy Jackson recently informed the organizations involved that the proposed change has been approved.

“It is official that the African Violets will be participating in Commencement,” said Jackson in an e-mailed statement.

Traditionally, the Daisy Chain has processed to start and conclude Commencement and Convocation, and the African Violets have not marched.

The Daisy Chain is comprised of sophomores who assist the seniors with programming throughout the school year. Similarly, the African Violets (which includes freshmen and sophomores) work with the Council of Black Seniors (CBS). The addition of the African Violets to the processional does not mean that the Daisies and African Violets will both carry the daisy chain at Commencement. Instead, as in years past, the Daisy Chain will lead the processional carrying the long chain of flowers. The African Violets will march after the Daisies.

“Logistically, [the African Violets] will be leading the senior class in, but more importantly, this collaboration with Senior Class Council (SCC) marks the first time a student of color organization has marched in the Commencement ceremonies,” said CBS President Kafi Moragne ’06 in an e-mailed statement. “The Council of Black Seniors never wanted [the African Violets] to be part of the Daisy Chain. We respect the work of the Daisy Chain, and felt that our organizations could better complement each other by acknowledging the value of difference.”

Daisy Chain Co-Coordinator David Koren ’06 said that CBS and SCC started discussing this change in fall 2005. The Councils developed a joint proposal for College administrators, which called for the African Violets to be included in the processional.

Director of Campus Activities Teresa Quinn advised students regarding the logistics of how the African Violets and Daisies could work together at Commencement. The inclusion of the African Violets in Commencement had to be authorized by senior College officals, including Jackson.

With regard to the efforts and conversations between the Daisy Chain and African Violets, Koren said, “We both realized that we both respected each other’s traditions.”

Koren added that neither group was interested in altering the other’s tradition. Instead, their intention was to give both groups adequate representation during the graduation ceremony.
In terms of the steps taken to include the African Violets in the processional, members of the Senior Class Council, Daisy Chain, and Council of Black Seniors agreed that it was a long process of collaboration between multiple groups and administrators.

Moragne said that CBS submitted a proposal to Jackson early in the 2005-2006 school year. Daisy Chain Co-Coordinator and Dean of the College Intern Jeff Warner ’06 noted that after CBS submitted an early proposal to Jackson, the Daisy Chain wrote a piece explaining what they would like to see at graduation.

“We had a meeting with the Daisy Chain, CBS, and the Senior Class Council in November,” said Warner. “That took several hours and we came to an agreement.”

Jackson then asked CBS to work on a joint proposal with the SCC. The two councils submitted this proposal and received an e-mail from Jackson which, according to Moragne, “recogniz[ed] the collaborative efforts of CBS and SCC and the inclusion of the Violets into Commencement."
“The [current] proposition would not have been passed without both the approval of CBS and Senior Class Council,” said Senior Class Vice President Sarah Porter ’06.

The idea of having the African Violets process at Commencement is not a new one. Most recently, in 2005, members of CBS approached the Vassar Student Association (VSA) Council with a proposal about marching at graduation. Their proposal included the request that the African Violets wear black dresses (the color of their dresses for their annual baccalaureate service). This was a source of contention last year, since it would have meant the Daisy Chain and African Violets would be wearing starkly contrasting colors. The African Violets will not be wearing black dresses during the processional this year.

“The Daisy Chain has always worn white dresses, and the decision was made that the African Violets will be wearing the same white dresses at Commencement,” said Warner.

In terms of membership in the African Violets and Daisy Chain, the African Violets are selected via an application process. There are no stipulations about race in order to join either group.

“The Daisy Chain is open to all students and the African Violets is supposed to be open to all students as well. I think anything we can do to further diversity and make people feel included at the College is something we should do,” said Warner. “There is a difference since the Daisies are designed to serve the senior class, and the African Violets are designed to serve seniors of color. But we won’t discourage someone who wants to be a member of both clubs.”
Moragne added that the African Violets are linked to the student of color community as a whole. “The Daisy Chain is open to the entire student body, but the African Violets attract certain students who have a commitment to the student of color community,” said Moragne.

When asked if there were concerns about the inclusion of the African Violets in the processional creating a precedent for other student groups to seek to process at Commencement, Warner replied, “The Violets are a longstanding organization. There is no parallel for [other student groups]. I think in the future, if a group was formed, they would be looked at very skeptically. I do not think it will set a precedent.”

Moragne echoed this sentiment. “I don’t think that it is fair to say if one group marches, a bunch of other groups will want to march. CBS has existed since 1991, and is the only group on campus with a similar structure to the SCC, in which the Daisy Chain and African Violet groups perform similar tasks for the senior class. If any group feels that they are not being represented in graduation, then they should go through the process of working for inclusion just as the CBS has done.”

The African Violets and Daisy Chain will be collaborating more in the months prior to Commencement.

The organizations will work together on social programming, as well as events during Senior Week. “We’re going to have a Daisy/Violets party so they can get to know each other better,” said Moragne.

Class of 2006 President Michael Cashman ’06 said that he was supported the inclusion of the African Violets this year.

“My position, personally, as Senior Class President, is in favor of the inclusion of African Violets into Commencement,” said Cashman in an e-mailed statement. “The executive board as a whole feels that the African Violets commit to the senior class as much as the Daisies do (maybe for minority seniors), but we are all part of the senior class, so they deserve to also try to be incorporated into Commencement.”

The addition of the African Violets to the processional means a change in a longstanding tradition at the College, and VSA President Rick Rodems ’06 said that he felt the change was timed appropriately.

“I think that it’s fitting that this innovation in Vassar’s tradition is happening this year, since this is a time of transition for the College,” said Rodems. “We are going to have a new College president, and a new chair of the Board of Trustees. Tradition is important, but tradition without innovation can become stagnant. It is important that we combine tradition and innovation in a way that reflects not only Vassar today, but one that reflects the legacy and history of the College as well.”

Additional reporting by Fabian Arzuaga, News Editor