BATON ROUGE – More than 500 African and African-American students will have the opportunity to participate in the LSU African-American Cultural Center’s 16th annual Robing Ceremony on Thursday, May 17, at 6 p.m. in the Bo Campbell Auditorium at the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes.

The Robing Ceremony honors and celebrates African and African-American students who have successfully completed their college careers and will be receiving an undergraduate or graduate degree at LSU. This event, which resembles traditional African ceremonies, is held at the end of each spring semester.

At the ceremony, degree candidates receive the traditional African Kente stole, woven in LSU colors, to signify the completion of their academic journey. The patterns and colors woven into the Kente represent distinctive qualities exemplified by LSU graduates. The colors purple and gold not only represent the great tradition of the university, but also royalty and precious metals. Parents, faculty members or significant persons to the graduate participate in the ceremony by robing the students using the stole.