Celebrating Our Female Graduates in an Era Trying to Usher Women Away From Higher Education
A response to Harrison Butker’s commencement speech
For most of my adult life, I have fantasized about walking down an aisle to a familiar tune, all eyes on me as I make my way to the man standing at the other end of the room. I’ve taken this walk four times now. I hope to do it at least once more before this precious life is over.
Many of the women I encounter get so excited when I mention this. They love to talk about ceremony and ritual, white dresses and romantic bouquets. Like me, they get the chills just thinking about that walk down the aisle, one of the most important moments in life.
But that’s where I realize things have gotten a little off track. I’m not envisioning a white dress or a beribboned bouquet. No, my gown is black and my flowers are a simple corsage. And the man at the end of the aisle isn’t going to give me a wedding ring — he’s going to hand me something I treasure far more: a diploma.
I’ve been told this is a sad little fantasy — there are, they say, much more important things in life, including that certain ceremony where the gown you wear is white.
However, I simply can’t agree. A diploma is forever. Everyone loves to say that…
