Students are being discouraged from using confetti for their graduation photos by UH. | File photo
Walking through campus around graduation, students and visitors may notice sparkly flecks on the ground. Those flecks are from confetti that students often use during their graduation photos.
After complaints from the UH community about the leftover confetti, The Cougar reached out to the University to see if it had an official stance on the practice.
“Graduation is such an exciting milestone and worthy of celebration, but we strongly discourage students from throwing confetti in their graduation photos on campus,” the statement said.
The University is not encouraging the action, classifying it as “littering.” There was no mention about confetti being unsightly, but for the animal lovers, the University said the plastic, single-use confetti can harm the squirrels and other animals that call campus home.
“Not only is it littering, but confetti can be harmful to our campus squirrels and other wildlife,” the statement said. “Consider using an alternative — like bubbles or leaves.”
Outside of that, students also have the option of buying biodegradable confetti, real flower petals and making their own, eco-friendly confetti.
