Health & Safety Myths – Graduates banned from throwing mortar boards?

The myth:

Graduates are banned from throwing mortar boards

The truth:

• Throwing mortar boards supposedly carries a risk of injury as a falling hat could hit someone on the head.
• Really? If they were so heavy, why would we put them on our heads anyway? We could injure our necks! Surely that’s more of an issue than a falling hat?
• Furthermore, the idea is that an unsuspecting victim would be walking past, only to be hit on the head by a hat a happy graduate threw. In reality, if you see a bunch of graduates on graduation day, hats in hand all cheering, you know what to expect, and would take the ‘necessary precautions’ by covering your head if it seemed that you were going to fall prey to a hat falling from the sky.
• Let’s face it- the risk of injury from a hat is quite unlikely. If they were throwing medieval knight’s helmets in the air en masse, then there would be a problem
• This myth most likely may have risen from a university being stingy and wanting their hats returned in good condition. Using health and safety as an excuse rather than thinking and being honest about things are the some of the reasons for the existence of the mythical monster that health and safety has become.