By: Maeve Rice and Meghan Runte
As graduation approaches, senior students are counting down the days until they move into their next chapter. To help the process move along, seniors decorate their skirts resembling the school they will be attending next fall.
Administrations assistant Mrs. Jenni Tumser said that the tradition of decorating skirts according to the college the senior plans to attend started in May of 2020. They started this tradition because it was during COVID, when seniors didn’t have a traditional graduation and celebration. “Students can add whatever details they want to the skirt, as long as they don’t cut it shorter while designing it,” Tumser added.
Tumser said some other senior privileges include wearing sweatpants and college gear for students on Fridays, holding a Senior Sunrise and Sunset, growing facial hair for boys for the month of April, and allowing exemption rates for final exams to be lowered to 85%. Seniors on CREW leadership pitched ideas, and Principal Bob Noll, Director of Student Life Mr. Bill Losekamp, and Student Culture Coordinator Mr. Todd Naumann reviewed their ideas and ultimately approved what was appropriate.
Senior Kennedy Kramer participated in making a skirt for her college, University of Tennessee. Kramer said it took her about three hours to make her skirt. Kramer said, “[From] what I remember, this has been something seniors have done every year I’ve been here.” She used paint brushes, orange and white acrylic paint, a ruler, and a white colored pencil for sketching/outlining.
Senior Natalie Jones said that decorating her skirt took her about 45 minutes to an hour. She used puffy paint, ribbons, and letters as her materials. “Almost every (senior) girl is participating,” Jones added.
The McNicholas Milestone 