To minimize risk during a time of celebration, the college has decided to change the date of Commencement from Sunday to Saturday. Associate Professor of Theatre and Dance Henry McCarthy and dozens of others have been working for years to make this change. The matter was voted on during one of the faculty meetings and several reasons were provided. Student input was taken into consideration by student representatives in several committees. This change will positively impact the health of Gustavus’ students.
McCarthy is the current co-chair of the Academic Operations Committee (AOC) and was involved in the vote to change the graduation date. This is his first year as AOC chair, but his second year participating in the organization.
Before the change, the AOC has contacted dozens of campus organizations for their opinion on a date change. The Chaplin’s office has been one of the forerunners geared toward the graduation change.
At first, the Chaplains didn’t want to change the date because Sunday is usually considered a day of worship. Commencement is an important part about physically and mentally entering the adult world for collegiate students. But for the sake of students’ safety, the Chaplains and the AOC have been working together, since last semester, to create a case for the change.
“At least in AOC, changing the graduation date has been on the table for four years,” McCarthy said.
They gathered facts about different schools’ graduation dates and incidence reports. They found that nearby schools part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America rarely had their graduation on Sundays. The committees of the Chaplains and the AOC internally decided that their case was solid enough to present to the entire faculty staff. The Chaplains and the AOC presented their case at the faculty meeting on Sept. 12, 2016. As a faculty, they decided to have graduations starting in 2018 to be held on Saturdays.
McCarthy and his team thoroughly thought about this decision going almost as far as changing the Academic Calendar. One possible situation would get rid of Touring Week to move the calendar up a week. Gustavus has one of the longest periods of time, in the MIAC, between finals and Commencement. The 2018 Senior Week will consist of at least four days and nights to celebrate the year’s end. This change will also help families that travel for the Memorial Day holiday. They will have an additional day to travel to/from the college. In the future, there will be further academic calendar changes to best suit the change.
There are several important reasons why the faculty changed the date. The most important reason argued was student safety during Senior Week and Commencement. Graduating seniors will most likely party during the days leading up to graduation. The excitement might lead some to make dangerous choices concerning their health. Changing the date will result in one day less of partying and hopefully less incidents.
“In the interest of reducing the high risk period of time between the end of final exams and Commencement each spring [administration will be] moving Commencement forward one day,” was the official reasoning in the faculty meeting minutes.
Incidents can’t be controlled by one policy change. but it’s one step toward making Commencement safer. But McCarthy also brings up that the college doesn’t need to babysit the seniors during Senior Week. Seniors should be old enough to know their limits and make careful choices. Commencement is a time to reflect and look forward to the future. It’s not a time to harm oneself and potentially others.
Some might be asking if there was any student input into this decision and there was. This idea has been considered for many years and frequently revised by several organizations. The Student Life Committee was one that was contacted many times. There are three student representatives on that committee.
Student Senate is usually one of the main organizations that deal with issues that directly effect students. This time, Student Senate wasn’t asked for input about the decision.