Commencement Programs (Group 4)

Florida State University was established in 1851 as the West Florida Seminary, opening its doors to men in 1857 and to women in 1858. Its name was changed three times before officially becoming the Florida State College for Women in 1909, as it became the florida college for women and the male students were moved to the University of Florida in Gainseville, and in 1947 the school was officially named Florida state University and returned to its coeducational university status. The university has undergone many changes, however one thing that has remained constant is the commencement program and the commencement program and ceremonies at the Florida State College for Women were show parallels to how they are today at the modern Florida State University.

The commencement cermonies in the early twentieth century at the Florida State College for Women were very extravagant and long running. The fourteenth annual commencement activites lasted from May 31, 1919 to June 4, 2020 and each day was full of activites honoring graduating seniors such as recitals and performances by those in the College of Music and exhibitions by those in the College of Industiral Arts and the College of Home Economics. Both programs from 1919 and 1925 feature spotlights for seniors who outshone their classmates academically or in other ways. The 1919 program featured the names of of those from the student body and which degrees and certificates they were to receive. The 1925 program included Gladys Jordan, Mabel Lyttle, Jamie Reese, Lucile Reece, Katherine Prime, and Louisa Verrel. These women were all honored for different areas of expertise - Jordan for her outstanding academic and leadership skills and Reece for her excellent work at field day. There ceremonies themselves consisted of speeches from mentors and teachers and the awarding of medals among other events, however the cap and gown ceremony took place before these other awards and speeches. 

Today, the commencement ceremonies include these speeches from mentors, teachers, and the president of the university at the actual cap and gown ceremony. There are also now different ways that seniors are honored for their excellence. Outstanding athletes are honors at Florida State University in the Athletic Hall of Fame. Those who excel academically are honored throughout their years in honors societies and may graduate with degrees of distinction at graduation. The honors college is also another way that students who excel academically are honored.

Commencement in the early twentieth century at the Florida State College for Women is largely similar to how it is celebrated in the twenty-first century. The attire that was worn by the students who were graduating is a standard outfit (Regalia) which includes a large black robe with a white collar and a mortarboard cap with a tassel which was worn on the left side, the only discernible difference related to the outfit is the color of the tassel which was changed during the 12 years gap between when each photos was shot. The ceremony itself changed very little between the two photos besides the size of each graduating class which was significantly larger in 1932 compared to 1919. The many similarities between the ceremonies between 1910's through the 1930's shows that the commencement ceremony was very traditional, yet the subtle differences and the expansion of the number of degree programs offered to women during this period between the two photos show both  progress and innovation originating from the Florida State College for Women.

In both the photo from 1919 and the photo from 1932 you see members of the graduating class and this gap in time showed a significant growth in the total number of enrolled student for the Florida State College for Women grew from 500 the year after the photo from the Laura Quayle Benson Scrapbook was taken and over the next decade the number grew to more than 2500 enrolled students by the time the photo from the Jewell Genevieve Cooper Scrapbook was taken. This rapid growth of the Florida State College for Women during the gap between the photographs from the two scrapbooks (which was an over 500% increase) allowed the Florida State College for Women to become one of the top 10 largest colleges for women in the continental United States (7th in 1928). The large increase in total students enrolled and graduating from the Florida State College for Women was likely sparked by the strong American economy in the 1920's which was a time where vast wealth was acquired by many people which allowed them to send their female relatives to get an education. When the stock market crashed on Black Tuesday in 1929 the economy went in a downward spiral, women from Florida who went to northern states to obtain a college degree were forced by the economic state to return home and many chose to transfer to the Florida State College for Women which led to the number of enrolled students increasing from around 1,500 1928 to 2,663 by 1930. Students who could not afford to pay their fees but were still looking to continue their scholastic efforts at the Florida State College for Women bartered both crops and livestock to pay their fees to the school. Fortunately the school and economy recovered in the following years and the school survived the Depression while still graduating hundreds of women a year including Jewell Genevieve Cooper. 

The large graduating classes during this time period were due to many circumstances and outside factors but it helped establish the school as a preeminent college for females in the early twentieth century and the graduation ceremony was the light at the end of the tunnel for the students who worked hard at the Florida State College for Women which had a commencement ceremony that was largely stardard for a womans college during this time period.