THE tradition of throwing a mortarboard into the air after graduation has been scrapped by a university because of health and safety concerns, according to a student newspaper.
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A university spokesperson said injuries cause by falling mortarboards presented an “unacceptable risk”.
Apparently, some gowns were also returned in shoddy condition following the hat-throwing.
Third year English Literature student Alice Cachia told The Tab: “This is health and safety gone mad”.
“People at UEA make pathetic rules without consulting students”.
Student officer Liam McCafferty said that, although the union recognised the safety implications, it hoped students could still “enjoy their moment”.
The UEA spokesman noted the seeming absurdity of the reports made it seem a “Great British story”: previous year Birmingham University banned the throwing of mortarboards at graduation ceremonies for students in its Classics, Ancient History, and Archaeology departments-again because of the possibility of injuries.
“If individuals or small groups want to throw their mortarboards they can but we don’t think doing it in groups of around 250 students is sensible”.
“This is an unacceptable risk and we want to ensure no student’s graduation day is ruined by the potential for avoidable injury”, the statement added.
Students have been banned from throwing their mortarboards in the air at the University of East Anglia (UEA), with health and safety being used as an erroneous excuse.
The university said that academic dress suppliers “often receive back damaged mortarboards” when students throw the hats above their heads.
Graduates have been banned from throwing their mortar boards into the air and are being asked to pay to have the caps photoshopped in to photographs.
The tradition originated in the USA and has been adopted around the world.
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“We would much prefer to do these photos the traditional way but have to comply with the university’s wishes”.
