Lorenza Navarro, a 23-year-old psychology major, started an online petition asking USF St. Petersburg to move the graduation commencement to a larger venue, citing Tropicana Field as one possibility. The petition, created on Feb. 13, has gained 341 signatures so far.
Each graduating USFSP student receives five tickets to the ceremony at the Mahaffey Theater. For those with big families, five tickets isn’t enough.
Mahaffey Theater holds 2,030 seats. More than 400 students received degrees last semester, and about 250 students walked at the fall ceremony, including graduates and undergraduates.
Spring ceremonies typically have about 100 more students who walk, according to Yoli Lanuza, the university’s commencement coordinator and executive administration assistant for Academic Affairs.
Many students expressed their extreme disappointment with the graduation venue saying five tickets are not enough to accommodate everyone they want to bring. According to Lanuza, the administration understands the student population is growing, but nothing has been decided yet.
The movement began as a Facebook post on the USFSP Know-It-All’s Guide.
“I think I’ve asked this before, but seriously why isn’t our graduation held at Tropicana Field where students would have the ability to invite their whole family? Can I start a petition for this?” Navarro posted on Feb. 12.
With many students responding, she quickly returned with a link to her petition.
“I remember learning about this issue during my first year on campus. I saw students posting on Facebook, offering to sell their unneeded tickets to the highest bidder. I couldn’t believe it. I knew immediately that five tickets wouldn’t be enough when my turn came around, and the thought I may have to buy tickets from others who got them for free frustrated me,” Navarro said.
“When talking to my family, my boyfriend’s family and friends who are in the same situation, or will be in a few semesters, I realized this issue affected a huge percentage of our students.”
According to Lanuza, the school has maintained a great relationship with the Mahaffey, which she said is the largest venue in the closest proximity to campus, and the nicest. She said the school wishes they could accommodate every student and their families, but the problem is finding a location big enough. Lanuza said options are to change venues or split the ceremony.
Jamie Kennedy, 24, graduated from USFSP in December 2013. While she only needed one extra ticket, she faced another issue.
“On the initial commencement application you have to apply for handicap seating. I never heard anything until the week of commencement when I received an email asking if the arrangements were still necessary,” Kennedy said.“It was left to nearly the last possible moment.”
Angela Blockburger, 25, also graduated in fall, but needed 18 tickets for her large family. Because her family lives mostly in New Jersey, Blockburger found it important to know who was able to attend so she could arrange travel plans. She did not know how many tickets she would have until finals week.
“It was horrible. Luckily I got all the tickets I needed because of my friends, but I had to depend on others. I even asked people in line as we picked up tickets if they had any extra to give away or sell. I was willing to pay for extra tickets,” Blockburger said.
While most understand that having the graduation ceremony at the Mahaffey could be considered tradition, some say the school has outgrown the theater.
Students also expressed disappointment when learning that other USFSP students cannot attend commencement. Many schools allow other students to attend their ceremonies, but because of the limited space, USFSP does not.
Bobby Malec, 21, is a political science major anticipating graduation in spring 2015. Almost instantly, he can think of at least 25 people he would want to attend his commencement.
“While we’re earning degrees, we’re also still growing up and learning to be part of a community. We do this with help from our families, our friends and those in our community. It’s a shame our graduates have to choose just a few of those people to see their commencement,” Malec said.
Kaitlyn Mackover, 22, is a psychology major graduating this semester. She is four tickets short and has family coming from Michigan and Ohio. Her family is working it out amongst themselves to decide who will watch her walk and who will not. Mackover hopes her family will visit anyway, but she knows the issue has upset them.
“I love that the relationship with the school and Mahaffey is more important than the relationship with their students who pay to come here,” Mackover said, jokingly.
Area high schools including Gibbs, Boca Ciega, Northeast, Osceola and Dixie Hollins, hold their graduations at Tropicana Field in early summer. Some schools, like USF Tampa, graduate at the Sun Dome on the Tampa campus. Students have suggested holding commencement at either venue.
Help make a change: Navarro’s petition can be found on the USFSP Know-It-All’s Guide on Facebook or by searching “USFSP commencement” on Change.org.
