Spring Commencement – Rain or Shine?

By EMILY BUSH/Staff Writer

The time is upon us. Finals week preys upon us mostly these days and a lucky group of students will soon graduate and move on to the next chapter of their lives.

Though, with this rewarding time of the semester approaching, it makes me think of my own experience at last year’s commencement when I was just in their shoes, walking the stage to receive my bachelor’s degree. Needless to say, if you don’t know already, the Spring 2021 commencement was something of a flood. Although East Texas weather can be a bit finnicky at times, I feel as though having an outdoor graduation while knowing rains were on their way was not a great way to remember such an occasion.

According to a survey from Spring 2021, the graduating population actually voted in favor of having an outdoor commencement, which did indicate that this vote would mean rain or shine. Still, there could have been some authoritative move to make sure that the students didn’t have to go through possible slip hazards on the stage or walk through inches of water on their way to the ceremony. Perhaps move the graduation back until the rain dies down or even postpone it since there was a bit of buzz about the rain in advance. It may have disappointed some and caused some confusion, but it would have spared the students the trouble as well.

So, why is commencement held outside in the first place? Well, it’s mainly because of a bigger graduating class, as a majority of students graduate in Spring semesters. Every Spring commencement is held at the Patriot Plaza, while Fall and Summer commencement is held in the Cowan Center, mainly because it’s easier to fit a smaller graduating class inside of the auditoriums. Along with this, at least for the semesters that I have been at UT Tyler, an outdoor graduation ensured that students could be spaced out enough for safety precautions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With all this in mind, is the rain-or-shine call for this semester still the right move? Well, students were not able to vote on whether or not the commencement will be held inside or outside for Spring 2022. I feel like, even if the school wanted to make commencement outdoors, there should have been some form of student input to allow students to feel more sound in the decision. As long as the conditions are met, I think that an outdoor commencement will be a great decision! We just need to make sure that we’re not fighting the weather.

I want to give a huge congratulations to everyone graduating! Good luck to you all.