Pictured Above: Alexendra Davis is a senior mass communications major.
Courtesy of Alexendra Davis
By Alexendra Davis
When the email regarding commencement ceremonies arrived, I was quite excited. The excitement continued when I read that spring 2021 graduation would be held in-person at Tropicana Field. That was where the excitement ended, though.
The following sentences quickly made me realize my college graduation was not going to be how I had dreamed it.
The first disappointing bullet point said, “to maintain safe physical distancing, students will be permitted to bring two guests to the ceremony.”
The second read, “to mitigate the risk of viral transmission, students will not cross the stage or have their names announced during the ceremony.” The university has since released a follow-up email saying that each graduate’s name will be said while they stand at their seats.
Although it was better than the original plan, it still felt disappointing.
Walking across the stage to receive my degree has been something I have dreamed about since I was a little girl.
Beyond that, I moved to Florida from Massachusetts for college. I moved by myself and have been away from my parents and brother since the end of 2017. Graduation was supposed to be a momentous occasion where they could fly down and we could celebrate the accomplishment that had pushed me to leave to begin with.
Instead, only my parents would be able to go, and absolutely no one else. My baby brother, who I have not been able to watch become a teenager because of school, would not be able to see me walk across the stage. My boyfriend, who has supported me through the last few semesters of college, would not be able to support me at my graduation.
Not even my grandma, who helped me when I just moved down here get acclimated to being an independent adult. More than two people helped me get to this point, and more than two people deserve to be there.
Numerous other spring graduates shared similar feelings about the university’s decision.
“I think that there’s no point to have it in person when the best thing about graduation is getting your name called, walking across the stage to receive your diploma that you worked so hard for,” Andrea Dale, a senior graphic design major, said. “It’s disappointing that we know so much about COVID-19 and how our age group is minimally affected, yet we still can’t make the decision for ourselves to carry on.”
Dale then shared her feelings on the lack of consistency with how the pandemic is being handled.
“It’s pathetic that our society will cancel things, such as this – things we have worked so hard and waited for most of our lives [for], yet we can walk around stores and things without social distancing…” Dale said. “It’s picking and choosing without consistency.”
Mass communications senior Olivia Sawdy decided that she would not attend the ceremony at all, even after the university’s second announcement.
“We have all worked so hard to get to graduation and it seems unfair to me that we are not getting the recognition that we deserve,” Sawdy said. “I would consider attending if I were able to walk across the stage and have more than two family members attend to celebrate this big accomplishment with me.”
For those who choose not to attend this semester’s ceremony, the university announced that students will be welcomed back for makeup in-person ceremonies later this year.
I agree that it’s disappointing. Tropicana field is huge. Let the families attend.
I person on stage at a time is plenty of social distance.