An email went out from University Communications that sent the graduating senior class into an uproar on Monday at 12:50 p.m. 39 days before spring commencement. The email contained five bullet points of information about spring commencement, the most important being that graduation would not only be ticketed, but each graduating senior would only receive a mere six — yes count them — six tickets for his or her guests.
The email contained no detailed explanation as to why the university was forcing us to go from an unlimited amount of guests to six, no indication of who made the decision, and no apology by the administration for the tremendous inconvenience imposed. The fact that N.C. A&T had the audacity to send us a number so low and think we were not even owed an explanation has to be one of the most insensitive, and disrespectful things this university has ever done. Our families have booked hotel rooms as far back as last year. Flights from all over the world have been confirmed for months. Personally, I have at least 15 family members who have paid for their travel and lodging here in Greensboro and now A&T expects me to tell them what exactly?
Then the next evening, Nicole Pride, Associate Vice Chancellor of University Relations shared with The A&T Register staff that the ticket count has gone up to eight and the chancellor will hold a town hall meeting on Monday with the graduating class to discuss any concerns. How they plan on relating that information to the rest of the university, I don’t know. What I do know is that isn’t enough and in my opinion the numbers still don’t make sense.
Ill feelings and bad PR aside, I can understand that the logistics of spring commencement are not totally in A&T’s hands. With the honor of having First Lady Michelle Obama as our keynote speaker comes the burden of all of The White House Secret Service’s rules and regulations. However, what we do know is that A&T was given 15,000 seats according to Pride.
Here are the facts: 15,000 seats for guests. According to a university press release there are “a little over 1,000” students graduating this spring. Let’s say there are 1,200 graduates. Eight tickets per graduate equal about 9,600 tickets. Pride said 3,000 are reserved for faculty, staff, alum, and community members. That comes to 12,600 seats, leaving 2,400 seats unaccounted for. Who’s getting those tickets? Why are random people in the community who don’t know or care about anyone in our graduating class getting tickets while our families and friends are forced to miss this major life accomplishment?
I think everyone needs to remember whose graduation it is. We have dedicated countless years, money, and hard work to get to May 12. We deserve the chance to share that moment with the family and friends who helped us get to that day. The general public did not help me, the mysterious group of invited alumni did not help me, and to be honest neither has the staff. It is our graduation and our university needs to put our needs first. That being said, the graduates should receive 10-15 tickets for their guests. The mysterious 2,400 seats can give us at least two more tickets apiece and that’s not counting all those seats being given to community members.
College graduations are a big deal, especially in the African-American community. Let’s be totally honest, the sad truth is for a lot of our families this is one of the few, if not the first, college graduations they will be able to attend. Eight tickets barely cover the immediate family. We are in the age of the blended family. A lot of us have step-parents, step-siblings, and half-siblings we grew up with in addition to our biological parents. That combined with the four grandparents equals 10 tickets for immediate family alone. Is having our immediate family there too much to ask for? That’s not even including our friends and fellow Aggies who have become family to us all during this tough journey. A&T always endorses and encourages the Aggie family but now they’re being thrown to the wind without so much of a thought.
Administration also needs to know that viable solutions do exist. They could and should have taken the time to come up with ways to please both the White House and us. For example, if there is no way around the eight tickets, why not have the students and their eight guests there for the program up until Michelle Obama speaks. Once she’s done with her speech she can leave and there can be an intermission where the rest of our guests are allowed to come in and watch us cross the stage. That eliminates the threat of those just coming to see Obama because only our family and friends will want to watch us cross the stage. Another idea would be to somehow utilize the War Memorial building at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. If nothing else, they should at least offer a viewing of the ceremony there on a big screen to compensate family members, who have already spent their money to be here, to watch. I will admit, I know my family would not have come all the way to North Carolina to watch me on TV, but it is better than nothing.
Whether you like these solutions or not, the point is that there are solutions and they need to be explored. This is not how I hoped to end my time here at Aggieland. After four years of fighting for financial aid, scholarships, rightful grades, and more, I never thought I would have to fight for my own family to see me graduate, but I will. And if I’m sure of anything, it’s that my graduating class feels the same way, as they made it quite clear on Monday that the class of 2012 will not take this sitting down.
Sincerely,
a graduating senior.
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- Sylvia Obell, Managing Editor