The Anselmian tradition for senior nursing students’ Pinning Day ceremony is facing changes in the required dress code. The iconic white dresses, historically worn by nurses, and the blue blazer are no longer the requirement for the ceremony, as decided Sept. 16, due to recommendations to provide more dress options, made by Title IX Coordinator, Marcie Vaughn. 

The traditional attire for the Senior Pinning Day Ceremony at Saint Anselm included blue blazers and khaki pants for the male nursing students, and traditional white dresses for the female students. Though professional nurses stopped wearing the dress and hat in the 1980s, the tradition of wearing it for the ceremony has continued at the college since then. 

“My recommendation to Dr. MacLeod and Professor Finn was to offer the traditional dress as an option for any person who wished to wear it, and to add a second option such as a lab coat for those who do not wish to wear a dress,” Vaughn said. Although thought to have violated Title IX, the dress code options were simply limited. 

“Title IX is a rule of inclusion, not a rule of exclusion. It does not require that we turn our backs on tradition, nor would I ever suggest that there is a need to do so,” Vaughn said, so the Pinning Day ceremony attire will now include options beyond the dress, for those who may feel more comfortable wearing something else for the ceremony. 

For the previously binary options of either a dress for female students or a blazer for male students, “instead, an equivalent option for any person who does not wish to wear a dress is needed,” Vaughn said. 

The options for dresses and blazers are still available for those who wish to wear them, but Title IX requires that programs allow individuals “to participate in our programs and activities in a manner consistent with their gender identity,” so Vaughn suggested “a second option such as a lab coat for those who do not wish to wear a dress.” 

In the original meeting where this news was shared with the senior nursing students, which took place Sept. 16, some students felt blindsided by the changes that were being made to the ceremony attire. 

Nicole Minnich ’25 said that originally in the meeting “they said we couldn’t wear the dresses, and it made me a little sad, because it’s a Saint Anselm tradition to get the white dress that traditional nurses wore.” 

The original meeting’s decision landed on getting rid of the white dress option entirely, but “within a couple of hours, they saw how we were reacting to it,” and the dress options were changed again to include the dresses and other options, Minnich said. 

“I think it’s good that everyone has the choice to not wear what they aren’t comfortable with, but it’s also nice that we can choose to wear the dresses if we want to,” Minnich said. To Minnich and others she spoke with, the problem and uproar mainly came from the choice being taken from them, and “I think there were a lot of people upset with the news,” Minnich said. 

Similarly in initial reactions, Abigail Edwards ’25 said “none of us were necessarily excited to wear the dresses until the option was being taken away from us and we realized how important the tradition was to us.” The idea of tradition was popular in complaints, but the idea of tradition was maintained throughout the decision making process of making the attire more inclusive to all gender identities. 

“We were disappointed about it because it felt like we didn’t have a say, and it’s something that we’ve worked really hard toward,” Edwards said, but “I think it’s good to give multiple options and value gender identity. 

In the two hours following the initial meeting when the dress option was reinstated and the official changes were made to the ceremony attire, Tiana Brache ’25 said “I think it’s a good idea to have the option between the traditional and the unisex option,” to value equal opportunity amongst all students. 

“People who aren’t comfortable with the white dress shouldn’t have to wear it but I thought it was unfair to make us all not be able to wear it,” Brache said. In a similar way of being fair to those uncomfortable wearing the dress, fairness also needs to be considered for those who were looking forward to wearing the dress at the ceremony. 

The popular concerns about tradition and fairness were shared by many of the nursing students, but the value of tradition and fairness is valued amongst the Dean and professors of the Nursing Program as well. 

Dean Diane Uzarski of the Nursing Program said that she is “so pleased that our nursing program is offering two options for pinning attire,maintaining our traditional white dress, and an option that may be selected by all – regardless of gender identity, ability, or professional preference. This recent change is consistent with our new three-year Jean School strategic plan goal to “Advance a culture of equity, belonging, engagement, and teamwork.”  

Also aiming at maintaining tradition, Dr. Carrie MacLeod, Associate Professor of Nursing said that “the Pinning Ceremony is so much more than an outfit,” and “we are not changing the beautiful, rich traditions embedded in the ceremony.” Although the attire may appear somewhat different, the tradition of the ceremony is continuing to celebrate the accomplishments of Saint Anselm’s student nurses and sending them off to their professional pursuits.