Thousands of students donning caps and gowns will be recognized at commencement Saturday for completing their degrees.

All graduates will be dressing in navy blue gowns, but each college has its own personal flair of a different colored tassel. On top of those touches, pockets of students have been known to sport their own unique looks.

Sights from commencements past include outgoing members of the College of Nursing wearing white-and-red nurse caps and media arts students donning film canisters atop their mortarboards.

“”That is what parents can see,”” said Tommy Bruce, president of the Associated Students of the University of Arizona.

Students attending Saturday can also expect to see messages to parents, friends and the like scrawled atop mortarboards.

Hawaiian leis are also always present, and have “”become a really big tradition,”” Bruce said, adding that merchandise stands outside McKale Center typically sell the leis and items like flowers and tubes of confetti.

Other things you might see at commencement include tassels and medals recognizing significant academic and leadership achievements.

Doctoral students will wear gold tassels and walk across the stage as their names are called. Master’s students wear black tassels and are hooded during the ceremony.

One visual tradition Bruce hopes won’t continue is the throwing of tortillas during the ceremony.

“”I have no idea (where) it came from,”” Bruce said. “”It is completely inappropriate.””

School officials attempt to stymie the popular practice by checking people for smuggled goods on the way in, he said.

“”There are other ways to celebrate that are just as good,”” Bruce said.

Bruce will be making his first speech at commencement. He described the atmosphere as full of energy for both the students and the full crowd.

“”There is so much going on around you – students on the cusp of starting their lives, beaming with excitement,”” he said. “”There is an insane energy in that room.””