Commencement 2024
First, a confession.
I never attended my own graduation ceremonies at the University of Southampton. It just wasn’t a thing at the time in the UK, at least not among my friends. I picked up my certificate a couple of years later because it had been shipped to the wrong address (long story).
But I try my best to attend the Barnard ceremonies every single year. I find them moving, and want to be there for my students. I usually skip the main Columbia commencement, which is larger and less intimate, though I have attended on a couple of occasions.
In an earlier post (prior to the occupation of Hamilton Hall) I predicted that that if the demands for divestment by protesting students really were non-negotiable, we would face either forcible dismantling of the encampment or the cancellation of this year’s ceremonies. It now appears that we may end up with both.
Graduation ceremonies are scheduled for May 15th this year, now less than two weeks away. Columbia’s main event is to be held on the Morningside campus, which remains largely inaccessible even to students and faculty. Barnard’s ceremonies are to take place at Radio City Music Hall, and are therefore less vulnerable. But it is very hard for anyone to imagine commencement as normal this year, and cancellation is a distinct possibility.
This would be terribly unfortunate, especially since the current cohort of graduating seniors also missed their high school graduations during the pandemic.
In this post I want to suggest a path forward so that a ceremony that is both substantial and meets the moment can proceed. To do this, it is important to separate the wheat from the chaff—to identify what is most essential and worth preserving—and then to have graduating students themselves decide on how to made it work. This is their day, and ought to be theirs to shape, especially in this year of all years. Some may decide not to attend at all, and others may choose to disrupt the proceedings at various points, but we can live with that.
Barnard has had some extraordinary graduation speakers over the years (Abby Wambach in 2018 is the one I remember most vividly). But this is not the most moving and powerful part of the event. The essential parts, those that matter most to students in my assessment, are the following.
First, as students stream into the hall in their caps and gowns, faculty stand on the sidelines and clap for them. It takes a long time and our hands are quite sore at the end of it all but nobody seems to mind, and students can be seen scanning the crowd to spot familiar faces to acknowledge.
Second, there are greetings from the faculty, typically delivered by the Provost, who also serves as the Dean of the Faculty. This is the moment when students (and parents) can reciprocate the opening gesture, as faculty stand.
Third, there is the presentation of awards. The recipients of the Barnard Medal of Distinction are typically major figures with significant and inspiring accomplishments, but even more important to the ceremonies are the awards to students based on the votes of their peers. The Frank Gilbert Bryson Prize, established in 1931, recognizes “a senior who, in the opinion of the class, has given conspicuous evidence of unselfishness and who has made the greatest contribution to Barnard during the college years.” And the Alicia L. Lawrence Memorial Award, named after a late deputy dean of the college, which “honors a student who has made significant contributions to the College and who exemplifies Alicia’s values and honors her memory by leading with light and strength.”
And fourth, the presentation of degree candidates. Each student’s name is called, and each walks across the stage to be congratulated and photographed.
These are the four elements that I think students remember and value the most. The first three can be implemented with little modification, perhaps with students making the introductions and announcements. But the presentation of degree candidates will require careful thought. As students walk across the stage, congratulations are usually offered by the college president. Even in less turbulent years, some students refuse to shake the president’s hand as a sign of protest. This year, given conditions on campus, I can’t imagine this portion of the ceremony proceeding in the traditional manner.
What’s the alternative? Perhaps students themselves can choose the person on campus from whom they wish to receive congratulations. Selection would have to be from a relatively short list, to make the event logistically manageable. If the list includes a broad spectrum of faculty and administrators, most students may feel properly seen and acknowledged. Perhaps students can choose from among this year’s nominees for the Emily Gregory Award, which is the only student-nominated and selected teaching award at the college, and is given in recognition of “teaching excellence and devotion and service to Barnard students.”
To some, a graduation ceremony may seem like a trivial matter in comparison to the scale of death and destruction that we are witnessing daily in Gaza. Perhaps it is. But perhaps it is also a proceeding that can bring a fractured community together for a few hours to see our common humanity, recognize our hard work and accomplishments, and commence a life after college that is sure to bring its own joys and challenges.
