April 5, 2011 12:00 am
Counterpoint: Walking At Graduation
By Amanda Zelaya, Former Editor-in-Chief
Recently a heated debate has sparked over the new changes to St. Mary’s graduation ceremony. If you have not heard about these new changes-we will now graduate via last name instead of major- then you clearly do not have a Facebook page. Seemingly overnight a group named “SMCM 2011 Majors Should Walk Together” formed and since then students who disagree with the decision have been encouraged to storm the President’s inbox with emails. While my own graduation is a year away, every time I see the invite to join the group and take a stance against this injustice I cannot help but question the motives of those so thoroughly against walking alphabetically; then after I question their motives I go back to more important things, like homework.
Naturally, people get upset when you attempt to change a long standing tradition, especially when they feel as though they have not been consulted over the change. This seems to be the source of a lot of anger from the St. Mary’s student body, or at least that is the impression I received when I decided to check out the Facebook group one night during a fit of procrastination.
Before reading the wall I assumed that the idea of walking alphabetically was either generally accepted, or people had better things to do with their day then contemplate who you will be standing next to when you walk. I soon discovered that I could not have been more wrong.
People are really up in arms about this and have even started a letter/ email group to President Joseph Urgo and Assistant Vice President for Academic Administration Mark Heidrich. When I read some of the posts I could not help but burst out in a fit of laughter at how seriously some people are taking this.
As someone who could care less about who I stand next to when I graduate I have a very difficult time taking this action seriously, and am actually a little upset that my fellow students will start a counter boycott towards a movement to ban Chick-fil-A but the second you suggest they have to stand next to someone they may not know they unite against the administration. I am all for student activism, in fact one of the things that I love about St. Mary’s is that my fellow students care so much about having their voices heard. However, I feel like the energy that is being expended on this campaign could be better placed elsewhere.
Sure the sentiment is understandable – my last name starts with a “Z” so once again I am graduating dead last – but is graduating by major really the most important part of your college graduation? No. Probably not. Not once in this entire argument have I heard anyone mention the fact that if we manage to make it past four years and graduate college we are pretty darn lucky.
Who cares what major we graduated in? In twenty years that is not going to matter for a majority of us.
What should matter is that we managed to survive four years of class, lab, professors, and campus life and made it out of here in one piece. Whenever someone begins a discussion about how by not graduating by individual major we are not being recognized for our individual achievement I have the urge to scream out that we are all being recognized as being college graduates.
If people are so worried about individual recognition than let’s add personal bios to the entire ceremony so we can make sure everyone receives their due. Just kidding. Graduations are already boring enough.
Then if major does not matter for the majority of us, we should graduate with a just a BA. Our diploma should not display anything more. It’s not like it matters for your resume or anything.
Graduation is a big event when you think of all the time, money, and effort you’ve spent at college doing what you like. It should be about us, and if we like to go by major, so be it. You just may care more next year when it’s your turn.
Your major only matters so much and only a minority of people actually obtain jobs curtailed to what they majored in as an undergraduate. I’m not saying that I don’t understand why people would be upset but I also believe that many are missing the administrations point,which is we all walk as SMCM students to show our sense of community. We do PRIDE ourselves on being more than just a campus but an actual community of people.
Sure graduation is a big event, it is a culmination of 4 years of hardwork,but for me graduating from college means more than simply walking by major. I’m happpy to graduate as a part of the wonderful St. Mary’s Community where I did more than sit in English classes for 4 years and no matter where I walk I will be a SMCM graduate.
My youngest daughter attends St Mary’s and her older sister graduated from Cornell. I will never forget that graduation, seeing all of those graduates walking in by majors. It was the coolest thing I have ever seen. I believe in tradition. Think about it,walking in alphabetically is just like a High School graduation.
this is just a poorly written article. no one is “lucky” to graduate college–sure, lucky that the circumstances in our lives allowed us to come here in the first place, but graduation (survival of “class, labs, professors, and campus life” in your words) is because of hard work and persistence. If you feel that you will be “lucky” to “survive” class, labs, professors, and campus life, maybe this isn’t the right place for you?
Furthermore, it seems like you don’t have a strong opinion in the matter, so why would you write an opinion piece against the strong student sentiment to continue the tradition of walking by major? It might not be a big deal to you, but for those of us who associate our major strongly with our identity, it is a big deal.
Honestly, this is one of the most condescending and pointless articles I’ve ever read in the Point News.
I still find it funny that most who are up in arms about this proposed change are science majors who already have sticks up their butts about being better than everyone else. It is my understanding that bio and chem majors feel they need to be recognized by major because they have “earned it” more than other majors. And yes, I have friends who have actually said that to me.
Not only will walking alphabetically help to promote civility among majors but it will also give students a chance to sit among others they don’t know as well and make more connections.
Plus, as far as recognition goes, walking alphabetically will increase overall recognition for those who are double majors. Instead of forcing them to choose which major they want to walk with, both of their majors will be said along with their names. Though I am not a double major, I think this adds the recognition that they deserve to the ceremony.
To those who are against the change – we get it. Quit whining and be adults. Maybe you should try to understand Urgo’s rationale before condemning it.
Well, did you go to the senior meeting about the change?
Urgo said he had no preference either way and that the only reason he changed it was because people at an earlier meeting did not care.
As an adult, I created the Facebook group and petitioned to Urgo and Bayless to set up a forum. I would not call that whining, rather wanting my and others students’ voices to be heard by the administration.
Also, as a Bio major, I do not feel better than other majors. Of course some science majors will say they are better than other majors. But then again, so will some art, poly sci, math, etc. majors. It’s just who they are as a person, not a discipline. Not everyone is like that. So, unless you are friends with every science major (except for me because I don’t feel that way), you should not pin that close-minded opinion on us.