When the class of 2016 graduates, girls will no longer wear white gowns. Instead, we will all wear purple, a step towards gender inclusivity and away from traditional gender roles.

But since the decision has been announced, there has been controversy because some students would rather wear white or have the option to choose their gown color.

While not everyone on the editorial board wants to wear a purple gown, we agree that the administration made the right call in deciding that all graduates will wear purple. The best way to ensure comfort for all students is unity: if we all wear the same color, no gender non-binary student has to make the decision of whether to choose the color of their sex assignment or that of their gender identity.

A graduation ceremony should emphasize our accomplishments in high school, not degrade into a public and potentially awkward coming-out for students who don’t identify with their biological sex. Although some students think that the purple gowns are ugly, it’s far uglier to make people conform to gender norms that may not fit them.

Furthermore, we are eager to shed the gender roles associated with dressing girls in white, a color that connotes purity and innocence. Purple is a much stronger color, a regal one that makes us think of Piedmont High School rather than a wedding.

As for the proposed solution of allowing each graduate to select his, her or their own gown color, we worry that this would result in de facto gender segregation — the same scenario that we are trying to avoid in the first place. Girls would feel pressure to choose white, and boys would feel pressure to choose purple. Those who do not conform to the gender binary, or who otherwise feel like wearing the non-traditional color, might feel embarrassed.

In addition to the logistical difficulty of selecting or assigning two different gown colors, it is also possible that the majority of students would chose white. There is no doubt that white would be a much cooler color, and we understand the desire for a combination of purple and white gowns, which is a unique and visually pleasing Piedmont tradition. Yet if the administration were to assign colors randomly or to offer students a choice, students might still be upset with their gown color assignment. And wearing all white would deny us our school spirit and have potentially racist implications.

So that leaves us with purple, the best option for PHS graduates, even if it isn’t the easiest color to match. Students have complained that it is far easier for girls to find a dress that matches a white gown, but we don’t want to graduate from a school that values the quality of graduation pictures over the comfort of students who do not identify as gender binary.

And frankly, graduation gowns were not designed for the runway. They were designed to be distinctive, to mark an occasion, to signify our accomplishments. Looking glamourous isn’t the point. The point is to celebrate the the 177 classmates who shared your pain, pride and joy. So let’s parade our purple with pride.