PLU announced this Wednesday via an email from PLU Commencement, that the original Saturday May 25 Commencement ceremony will no longer be held at the Tacoma Dome. Instead, PLU has decided to hold the event on PLU campus in Olson Gymnasium and split its four colleges into four separate ceremonies that span over two days on Thursday, May 23, and Friday, May 24.
If a student has multiple majors, they can only participate in one ceremony of their choosing and may attend others as guests for free. Fourth-year French and Biology double major Zackayla Rice says, “These changes to location and separating ceremonies diminish both the celebration of graduation and the achievement itself.” Later going on to say, “The separation is also immensely disappointing as someone with two majors who now has to choose between which degree I will be represented by.”
The email included a number of reasons for the change, including the return of a “[T]radition the university has had in place for over 100 years,” and “[M]ore faculty and staff can celebrate you and welcome your families and friends in a setting that has been an integral part of your educational journey.”
A more prominent logistical reason for this change was largely attributed to having the infrastructure to accommodate Commencement. The email reads, “We’re in a place now where we can accommodate that volume, and we’re pleased to be able to respond to a longstanding wish to have our graduates experience a more intimate and meaningful event on campus.”
Now, Jan 11, only one day since the announcement, a petition created by fourth-year nursing major Karli Kooi on change.org has already received 510 signatures and counting.
When asked why Kooi felt the need to create this petition, she said, “After thinking and reading about issues with my other classmates, including $100s of now useless travel costs, I couldn’t do nothing.“ Going on to say, “Maybe PLU won’t listen to our discontent, but at least with this petition I will be doing something, and trying to get answers if not change from this entire unexpected situation.”
The “Reasons for signing” comments bring up many points of argument against PLU’s decision. One parent in the comment section wrote, “I think it’s stupid and nonsense my daughters high school graduation was taken away from her do to Covid years and now your saying this private college is broke after I empty my pockets…”
Another comment highlights the choice of hosting Commencement on weekdays saying, “Some people can’t schedule the day off. They can’t afford to miss work or school. It’s so inaccessible and inequitable. And separate?…”
It is unclear whether there will be changes to the Commencement schedule. It currently is as follows: College of Health Professions is May 23 at 3:00 pm, College of Liberal Studies is May 23 at 7:00 pm, College of Natural Sciences is May 24 at 11:00 am, and College of Professional Studies is May 24 at 4:00pm.
Stay tuned as this story develops.
