The Sophian

Issue date: 5/14/09 Section: Arts

Since 1886, Smith seniors wearing white have graced the campus to celebrate the end of their college career. Originally, the celebration happened on the porch of College Hall. Seniors heard the recitation of an Ivy Day Poem, and the oration of an Ivy song. At the end, they left their final mark on Smith by planting the day's namesake, the Ivy, at the foot of College Hall. The tradition has changed as much as the style of dress, but the sentiment of Smith camaraderie remains the same.

Perhaps one of the most striking visuals of Ivy Day is the countless images of seniors walking with their roses to fill the College Archives. However, one striking comparison between each photo needs to be made: the color of the shoes constantly changes.

White shoes started as the tradition, but in 1939 brown and white spectator pumps were accepted. By the 1950s, the switch had been made to white, but quickly switched to black in the 1960s. According to the College Archives, the shoes were then allowed to be darker from 1974 onward.

Recently, seniors have worn black shoes with white dresses. Smith College archivists Deborah Richards and Nanci Young do not know why these changes were made. However, they imagine the reasons are fairly simple, since there doesn't seem to be a lot of extensive data on the topic.

"We suspect they were based on fashion at the time," Richards said.

Senior Emily Casey '09 heard from a friend that seniors wore black shoes because "you don't know yet that black shoes go with white dresses." By contrast, the alumnae that march on Ivy Day display their wisdom by wearing white shoes with their attire.

"I think it is cute, but it kind of annoys me," Casey said. "I don't like my shoes being proscribed to me."

Casey had a similar tradition at her high school where female graduates wore white dresses and held red roses, but were not assigned a certain shoe color. She had hoped that at Smith she could wear her purple flats she wore in high school.

Although Casey already experienced a similar event, the idea of Ivy Day is still appealing and exciting for her.

"I like that it brings together alums and current graduates," Casey said. "The alums are just so funny. They have crazy hats and outfits."

The flower-carrying tradition has been even more versatile than the color of shoes or the style of dress. The changes have been very student-driven. The tradition began in 1895, where each senior carried a bouquet of her favorite flowers. This changed in 1902 when the sophomore class presented roses as a gift to the seniors. However, in 1903 seniors refused roses because their class color was green. And during World War II, students requested not to have flowers because of the expense.

Yet it is critical to note that the Ivy Day tradition is about more than roses and shoes. Ingrid Friedberg '08 felt that the wearing white and carrying roses were merely expressions of the unity in their celebration of Smith.

"I felt really touched by the whole thing," Friedberg said. "It made me think of all my good experiences at Smith with really strong, intelligent and beautiful women. Every memory came up for me then."

She looks forward to returning in five years to celebrate Smith again, no matter what shoe color she wears.

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