By Alejandra Garcia, Multimedia and Communications Student Assistant

A convocation stole design has been chosen to represent the College of Social Sciences and it was created by student’s artistic design submissions.

The college announced its ‘Grad Sash Competition’ last fall encouraging students to submit their designs for a first-ever convocation stole. Several submissions were sent and the COSS student leadership council took elements from the different designs to create a final one.

Edgar Bolaños, a history major and SLC senator, said coming up with the final design was easy thanks to all of the submissions and creative ideas.

  “The COSS Student Leadership Council and other submitters contributed to the design.We definitely wanted something bold and different.”

Bolaños said he took pride in assisting the college by choosing a stole that is symbolic of the college’s identity, a large bulldog on one side and the college’s logo on the other. With this unique stole, students will be able to showcase pride in their college, during and after graduation.

Mercedes Thao, Interior Design major, was excited to contribute her vision and is grateful for the opportunity to do so.

 “This is the first time that I have ever seen a college give students the opportunity to design their own college stole. I am excited for COSS students who will be able to have a design that was designed by the students of Fresno State.”

The stole is intended to represent all majors within the College of Social Sciences. The winning design will be available for students to wear during this year’s convocation ceremony. Rainder Johal, sociology major, says it’s important for the COSS to have its own stole.

   “When students graduate from college they have something to look back at and remember their college experience. I feel that it is very important to have a stole because it represents the department you come from and you take away the memory of graduating from that department.”

The stole will be available for purchase for $25 during Grad Fest on Tuesday, March 13 from 10 a.m – 6 p.m. and Wednesday, March 14 from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. It will be available for pickup after April 20.