If we learned anything from the Class of 2020’s commencement plans, it’s that the day does define the journey.
Unfortunately for the Class of 2021, students have once again been left dreading a graduation day that was supposed to define our entire college experience.
As a graduating senior who will once again watch a senior year celebration – this time, my own – be stolen by the COVID-19 pandemic, graduation is the last event we are able to hold out hope for.
With only three months separating what would be the start of a pandemic and the Class of 2020’s commencement, it made sense that the best solution UCLA could offer was a video posted on Youtube and, so far, an empty promise of a postponed in-person ceremony. However, by the time the Class of 2021’s graduation rolls around, UCLA will have had over a year to brainstorm and prepare for this momentous occasion.
Students need to know those plans well in advance so they can make plans of their own. The longer UCLA waits to keep us in the loop, the smaller the pool of options for commencement ceremonies become. A college student’s graduation is never solely about the student – it is also about the friends, family members and mentors who have supported them along the way.
And in order to share in this milestone, they need proper notice.
Alfred Tun, a fourth-year economics and political science student, said graduation is an important moment and is necessary to celebrate Bruins’ accomplishments.
“I think (UCLA) can really do a better job of handling … the commencement ceremony,” said Tun, who was a former Opinion columnist for the Bruin. “If at all possible, I would really hope for an in-person graduation ceremony – that is, of course, safely social distanced and that follows all the applicable regulations.”
There are many questions UCLA should be asking itself that Bruins such as myself have asked a hundred times. Students should be told if small department-level, in-person, socially distanced ceremonies, or the ability to walk across the Pauley Pavilion stage wearing a cap, gown and mask to an empty audience are still possibilities.
UCLA has had ample time to plan a graduation that Bruins will love rather than the graduation they will have to accept. And if that planning has even begun, Bruins should be updated every step of the way.
Dzelila Maslesa, a fourth-year political science student, said that as a transfer student, she feels especially deprived of the UCLA experience.
“I’d really like to be on campus when I graduate because I do think it would bring all of my achievements and accomplishments to life,” Maslesa said. “Maybe they could … require that each of us get tested beforehand and show a negative test result or something along those lines.”
Last spring, UCLA produced the College Commencement Planning Survey for graduating seniors to indicate their preferences for the commencement ceremony. However, with new vaccine developments and foresight the university did not have a year ago, UCLA needs to reevaluate its possibilities.
The Class of 2021 has a right to be informed and decide how we want to celebrate completing four years of rigorous coursework and shelling out thousands in tuition costs. One of my mother’s biggest dreams was watching her daughters graduate and she sacrificed a lot to make that dream a reality – walking across a stage may seem minuscule to some, but for others it is an indescribable milestone.
In an emailed statement, UCLA spokesperson Ricardo Vazquez said safety is the university’s number one concern, and it remains committed to honoring this meaningful occasion for students. UCLA is connecting with student leaders to ensure that the student perspective is taken into consideration, Vazquez added.
This statement is as opaque as the graduation planning process itself, and unnecessarily allows a select group of students to represent the Class of 2021’s opinion on the matter. UCLA’s inability to transparently share the progress it has made on commencement planning continues to add to the sense of uncertainty Bruins have felt since March.
And the last thing UCLA wants is history to repeat itself.
In a brazen tweet, Chancellor Gene Block canceled last year’s graduation and reminded students that “the day does not define the journey.” This tweet faced backlash from graduating seniors, and Block later extended an apology for not recognizing the disappointment a virtual ceremony would cause.
For in-person or Zoom ceremonies, time differences, locations and medical conditions could all be hindrances. Asking Bruins to decide which ceremony option is best will inevitably leave some students on the wrong side of the vote. However, last year’s planning survey produced similar results, with some Bruins undoubtedly supporting or not supporting the various logistical elements presented to them.
For the Class of 2021, our final year of life as college students ceased to exist. That pain needs to be honored with a commencement that does not leave us wanting more, the way our final year as college students has.
Despite our journey being filled with digital hurdles, the least we can get is one day of normality.
