This is a lunatic regulation. Not only is it going to prove unpopular with the students, it will make the university authorities very unpopular too.

The wearing of national dress is an opportunity for the graduate to show respect for the degree he or she is going to be awarded; it shows respect for the university; and above all, for the graduate themselves and all the hard work they have put in.

As long as they wear the gown and hood appropriate to their degree, then it does not matter what else they wear, as long as it is neat and tidy. I know a few graduates turn up in trainers and jeans, but these are in the distinct minority, and they are usually looked on by their fellow graduates as "letting the side down". If they can't get a clean white shirt, tie, and plain black trousers and shoes together, then they shouldn't be at the ceremony at all.

It sounds to me like political correctness gone not just mad, but stark, staring, raving bonkers! and this coming from minds as elevated as the praelectors of Cambridge University, the oldest one in England (just shows, age doesn't confer wisdom).