Military cords, worn around the necks of veterans or current service members, are here for the graduating class of Wayne State College.

The discussion for military cords came last fall, when Steven Elliott, a veteran and Dean of School of Arts and Humanities, did some research on other schools who have used military cords. Working with now-retired Lynette Lentz, the WSC registrar, the duo had the cords on graduating service men and women’s necks by December 2014.

“The Military and Veterans Honor Cords confer special recognition for students who have honorably served in the United States Armed Forces and demonstrated a commitment to academic excellence,” Elliott said.

To be eligible to receive the cords, students must have served, or are currently serving, in the military and have achieved a minimum 3.0 grade-point average at graduation.

Schools in the past have also allowed for students from the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), the Junior ROTC (JROTC), and new high school enlistees in the Armed Forces of the United States to use the cords for graduation. The traditional colors for the cords are red, white and blue. Other schools have also used colors according to the military branch of the service member.

There has been some controversy with the military cords. Some school officials from across the U.S. have asked the question: if the military gets cords, why shouldn’t firefighters and police force should get cords as well?

The cords are provided to the college by The United States Department of Veterans Affairs.