At graduation much advice was given, but my advice would have been on shoes. Most peoples’ shoes did not fit at all well. This made it harder to stand and step well, and I kept thinking of how that would look at a job interview. Everyone needs a pair of well fitting shoes now.
Axé.
coldhearted scientist وداد 
Yes, I had similar thoughts after two and a half hours of watching people’s feet parade by under the identical black robes. I wanted to start a senior year advice column. Flip flops? please! is this the beach? If you can’t walk with an easy stride then leave the kitten heels/high heels/backless sandals at home. Athletic shoes are OK on the street, but do not match the robe and the occasion. Chewing gum while shaking someone’s hand looks so tacky. Please recognize that good posture goes a long way to making people think you respect yourself. No, really, stand up straight–it makes you look confident and smart.
Just call me professor crabbypants.
I concur, Prof Z. And ditto Joanna. No flip flops. Why not just nice black oxfords or flats if you are not comfy in heels? Good feetwear is important!
And don’t even get me started on young women in badly fitted bras! How uncomfy is that???
Last summer I decided – and I believe, announced on this blog – that all flip flops should be banned everywhere except at home, in the locker room, and on the beach. The feet which carry them off well are very rare, and few flip flops are tasteful, and I am tired of seeing whole crowds of people flip flopping around. I was yet more mortified to see them at graduation.
I agree on the athlectic shoes, technically, but found myself wishing they would require them – or perhaps ballet slippers (yes, for men too, they had as many shoe problems as the women!) – for graduation. You can get discreet ones in black, and it would be one simple way to solve the problem. At least the (few) people in athletic shoes had them in the right size and were not falling over them or off of them, or stepping out of them!