Curmudgeon Girl asks...

...when did it start to be normal for boys (and no, I don't think I mean young men) to wear caps indoors? I sat in Convocation this morning and looked out at a sea of baseball caps.

Seriously. I talk about this in my segment on cultural geography, and the class is shocked (shocked, I tell you!) to learn that there was a time in the not-so-distant past when males did NOT EVER wear hats in buildings (unless they were in academic regalia at Convocation, ha ha). Sometimes I tell the story of traveling through Europe with student groups, and nudging some boy to remove his cap IN A CHURCH. Some semesters, I think they think I am making this all up.

It was worse in the construction management class (duh) but still. Convocation?? My college convocation, more than 30 years ago now, was quite solemn, and as I recall, we dressed up a bit. There were solemn dedications to our shared purpose, some honorary degrees, non-denominational hymns perhaps - and in the august setting of a wood-paneled, stuffy auditorium that had probably seen 75 convocations or more. The state schools like to ape the Ivy ways, but it just doesn't have the same impact. Call me a snob if you like.