David Winner (CAS’23) clearly remembers the day he graduated from BU.
“The campus felt electric,” Winner says. “I loved taking part in a tradition that was hundreds of years in the making. I was even congratulated by strangers in the street—something that doesn’t happen often in Boston!”
Along with his classmates, Winner got to experience many of the iconic moments of BU graduation: walking across the stage to receive his diploma, seeing red and white confetti fall from the sky, stepping on the seal. But not all members of the Class of 2023 were present that day. Some opted out, simply because they couldn’t afford the cost of a cap and gown.
In fact, every year, some graduating students skip BU Commencement because of the cost of graduation attire ($70 for an undergraduate cap and gown, $115 for graduate cap and gown).
This spring, BU took steps to address this need. The University launched the “Tassels for Terriers” crowdfunding campaign with the goal of covering the cost of caps and gowns for graduating students with financial hardship.
Between April and May, 182 donors raised a total of $19,779 for the Tassels for Terriers campaign. In a thank-you message to donors, Dean of Students Jason Campbell-Foster affirmed: “We can now supply caps and gowns to BU students facing financial hardship.”
That’s a relief to Winner. “Graduation is a day when you shouldn’t have any worries,” he says. “You should just revel in the fact that you’ve made it.”