Commencement Controversy: Class of 2014 vs. Plymouth State

A Commencement verdict has been reached after an open forum was held by Plymouth State University President Sara Jayne Steen and Provost Julie Bernier and students.

On Mon., Feb. 24, 2014 Plymouth State University President Sara Jayne Steen and Provost Bernier held a meeting that was open to all members of the class of 2014. It was a forum set up for questions and answers. Students from this years graduating class that attended were heated to say the least.

Senior Criminal Justice major Forest Steinberg started a student petition that was against the original plans for commencement. When asked why she started the petition Steinberg said, "I was upset by the plans but also the school not giving us a voice/including us in the discussion and immediately thought, "Hey, let me start a petition!" Well, about 24 hours later we had over 200 signatures and I no longer felt alone." The petition received a massive amount of attention and riled up a good amount of seniors against the University.

Several students stood up at the forum to state the fact that they had no idea about the graduation plans until they heard about Steinberg's petition or heard about the forum. It seems that the biggest issue the students had was with the communication, or lack there of, between the graduates and the administration. The disgruntled students that stood up to speak threw out suggestions that were immediately shot down, but for a reason. There were a lot of repeat questions about construction and other places to hold commencement. President Steen continually restated how the committee is looking into all options but that there isn't a lot out there, which only caused further frustration.

It's tough to say whether or not the meeting was a success. Although many of the students that attended the forum expressed frustration and anger, there were those who stood up and said that they understood where the university was coming from, but that they would have liked more notification. There were complaints about why plans for commencement hadn't happened earlier and President Steen explained how the plans for the construction for the AllWell Center were not approved until the end of 2013.

Senior Megan O'Gara said, "Walking out of the forum that took place on the 24th, I was disappointed. I walked into that room initially feeling optimistic hoping that my fellow and classmates would work together to seek out attainable solutions or alternatives to what had been announced regarding commencement. Instead, the forum turned into a means in which many members of the class complained and shared sob stories."

On the other end of the spectrum, Steinberg said, "I definitely think the meeting went well. I was afraid people would just sign the petition and then forget about it and not come to the forum. Obviously it would have been amazing to have all 830 signatures there, but hey, we can't get everything we want! People were able to ask questions, have them answered, but the most important part was that the Provost and President were actually interested in what we had to say."

As of now, it looks like Commencement will be held on Currier Field at the PE Center. As done last year, graduates will be seated and will process by College, by department, in alphabetical order.  This allows friends and family members to follow the program and to know when their graduate is about to be called. In the event of inclement weather you will report to a location that will be assigned to you based on your major.  The locations include the PE Center, the Ice Arena, the HUB Courtroom, and Hanaway Theater in the Silver Center.  This is necessary to accommodate the number of graduates and to ensure that each graduating student will receive four tickets for his or her guests; additional guests will be able to see each event in a nearby viewing location.

More information will be available in the next Commencement e-newsletter sent out to seniors as well as at Graduates Day on March 7 (this Friday) including which location you will be assigned.

"Thank you to the Senior Class officers and to those students who took the time to meet with us to talk about possible alternatives for Commencement.  We look forward to celebrating this special day with you on May 17^th, hopefully outside on a beautiful sunny day!" said Julie Bernier, Provost and VP of Academic Affairs.