Black dresses, no escorts for class of 2016 Ring Dance

Junior women will be asked to wear black dresses to Ring Dance, and escorts will no longer be a part of the ceremony, starting with the class of 2016.

Ring Dance will still be held in The Jefferson Hotel and will look to emphasize the class ring and academic accomplishments of the women, said Kerry Fankhauser, associate dean of Westhampton College. Because the women will not have escorts, the stairs will most likely not be used as a part of the ceremony, she said.

At the start of the school year, class of 2016 students received a letter from Juliette Landphair, dean of Westhampton College, outlining the changes and the reasoning behind the changes. Landphair has not received a single response to the letter, she said.

Even though in the past, students were told they did not have to wear white, have an escort or have their father as their escort, students still felt as though that was mandated, Landphair said.

"We don't want to deny the meaningful aspects of this for students who like the traditional stuff; but for the incoming students, hopefully they'll recognize we see this in terms of principles of inclusion." Landphair said. This is also the 100th anniversary of Westhampton College, and the changes are a great way to start off this new chapter ahead, she said.

As long as parents are still in attendance, the changes don't bother freshman Mia Diefenderfer, she said. Freshman Sara Fitzpatrick did not know what Ring Dance was like before, so the changes seemed rational to her, she said.

Freshmen Rosie Given and Jessica Gallo said that the black dresses would make Ring Dance seem more somber. Having attended Ring Dance when her older sister was a junior, Given said she was upset that she would not have the same experience.

These changes have been discussed for at least the past five years and are not the first changes to be made in the history of Ring Dance, Fankhauser said. In the past, families and friends were not a part of the tradition, and it was held on campus, she said.

Alli Mannon, a junior who still has not decided if she will attend Ring Dance in the spring, said the changes sounded better because finding a black dress would be easier, and it would not be as difficult for the students whose parents could not attend.

"Ring Dance is, of course, voluntary, but it doesn't always feel that way to students," Fankhauser said. It is one of the more controversial traditions on campus because of the cost and because white dresses often have a link to debutante balls and weddings, she said.

"We want to pull away from that and go back to how Dr. Keller really envisioned this event, as being about a women's accomplishments and her finally being in her junior or upperclass years in college," Fankhauser said.

The dean's office is looking to find a way to continue to recognize and incorporate families and the people who are important to the women, she said.

Taylor Michals, a senior who learned about the changes before the start of the school year because of her involvement in the Westhampton College Government Association, said: "I was kind of surprised by it. I didn't really know how to react. Then, once Dean Landphair explained it to me, I really understood and respected the decisions."

Landphair said that once students looked at the impact Ring Dance had on those without parents, those who did not have a strong relationship with their fathers, those who could not afford to participate and those who did not want the pressure to wear a white dress, it was easier for them to understand the rationale behind the changes.

Students were not given a vote about the changes; rather the faculty came together to decide what were the right changes for the ceremony, Fankhauser said.

If students were given a vote, it is likely the majority would want to keep things as they are, Landphair said. "Again, it has meaning for the students that I don't want to deny," she said.

The decision was made focusing on long term what would make the most sense in terms of inclusion, she said.

"Really what it came down to was looking at our past, looking at our future, looking at where we are right now and trying to kind of mix those to make more sense and to make this tradition that makes sense today," Fankhauser said.

When sophomore Sanya Hirani was asked if she knew what Ring Dance was, she described it as women in white dresses being escorted by their fathers, a definition that will be changing in the future. Hirani is an exchange student from India, and said she wanted to have the same experience at Ring Dance as the women before her.

Senior Megan Nickerson, who attended Ring Dance last year, said, "I think that the school has had this tradition for so long and changing the color of the dress won't improve it, and removing an escort makes it less special."

Sophomore Kate Ruggiero said that the traditions were one of the reasons she had chosen Richmond, and said that these changes would make Ring Dance less special.

There are currently no plans to change Proclamation Night, a campus tradition where freshman women wear white and sign the Honor Pledge, Fankhauser said.

"The honor element is very evident in Proclamation Night," Fankhauser said, "and I think to a lot of observers, they would not say the academic piece is very evident in Ring Dance."

Contact staff writer Maria Rajtik at maria.rajtik@richmond.edu