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GREENSBORO — Clad in white dresses, the new students sang the lyrics printed on the next-to-last page of their programs.

It’s a safe bet none of these 212 young women had ever sung the Bennett College alma mater, so their eyes stayed fixed on the page lest they stumble over an unfamiliar word.

Turns out, the last two lines of the chorus summed up what this day was all about.

True we’ve been throughout the past,
True to thee while life shall last.

Bennett’s tradition-steeped past and its hope-filled future met within the walls of Annie Merner Pfeiffer Chapel on Thursday morning, when the small liberal arts women’s college held its annual Convocatum Est ceremony.

On the surface, the formal first gathering of Bennett’s Class of 2012 — plus 45 high school students enrolled in the Middle College at Bennett — might seem out of place.

Where does all the pomp and circumstance of young women in pretty white dresses fit in a modern world?

“Tradition and ceremony are very important in that they really reinforce who we are,” said Julianne Malveaux, now in her second year as Bennett’s president. “I like this ceremony, especially, because it’s a formal welcome. (Students) just don’t come in and start matriculating.”

Instead, the women of Bennett get a feel for the college’s 135 years of history.

Bennett and Spelman are the only two all-women historically black colleges in the country.

“It’s very important because it allows us to think on our own beginnings,” Malveaux said. “That tradition has to be melded with the dynamism of the 21st century. We have a tradition of forging new traditions.

“We’re a traditional place, but our traditions have constantly been redefined by the times.”

And by the students.

As this year’s first-year students waited in a hot gymnasium for a class photograph to be staged, Malveaux gestured toward the group and said the young women presented a walking, talking lesson in conformity versus nonconformity.

Blue vinyl tarps covered the floor, protecting the hardwood from hundreds of high heels of different styles.

“They were all told, 'Wear a white dress.’ But look at all the different styles of dresses they chose,” Malveaux said. “They are reveling in their diversity while holding on to a tradition.”

As they walked across campus, from the gym to the chapel, more evidence of individuality could be seen. Hairstyles. Jewelry. Bows. Occasional glimpses of tattoos peaking from beneath a sleeve.

Inside the chapel, each woman’s name was called. Each shook Malveaux’s hand. Each walked down five steps to find her signature in the college’s register, her place in Bennett’s story.

Afterward, Malveaux explained the day.

“It’s a long ceremony,” she said. “We call you all by name. Why do we do that? It’s because we want to put you in context. We want you to know the company you keep.”

Malveaux encouraged the students to work together every chance they get, promising powerful results.

“One plus one equals more than two,” she said.

“Those who are good can become great. Those who are great can become extraordinary.”

The long ceremony ended with the singing of the alma mater, a chorus of the past meeting the future.

Contact Jeff Mills at 373-7024 or jeff.mills@news-record.com