To the Editor:
Last year’s unlikely blizzard on Commencement day should not be used as a reason not to hold Commencement on campus. It should be noted that that storm was the latest a measurable snowfall has occurred in Troy since the beginning of recorded weather.
However, it does illustrate a need for better planning. The staff did an admirable job of accommodating the change of venue with very little notice, but such a Herculean effort would have been unnecessary if proper backup plans and preparations had been made.
While the weather caused several problems at last year’s Commencement, chief among them were fairly accommodating guests and requiring students to form up in the cold and snow.
Though moving to the Field House required that each student be limited to four guests, I know of several students whose families were not permitted in at all, and am certain that some students had more than the allotted number inside. I was told by my family that no one checked their tickets at all upon entry. A solution to this problem has already been made public with the two sets of tickets.
Before entering the Field House with much pomp and circumstance, the graduates lined up outside over a period of some length. I was less than comfortable in a suit and dress shoes; I feel sorry for some of my fellow graduates in dresses and toeless shoes. This could have been made less uncomfortable with a circus-style canvas tent or even an awning, although I am unsure the logistics would work here, there undoubtably exists a workable solution.
These are just samples of the problems unforeseen last year that should be planned for if an outdoor ceremony is planned again, and I am confident that the backup plan lesson has been learned. Mr. Hill raises a good point referring to the ample parking at the Pepsi Arena and, by inference, the less than ample parking on campus. Last year’s shuttle service was workable however, and other factors are also important.
For instance, the seats in the Pepsi are patently uncomfortable, certainly when compared to the chairs laid out for last year’s outdoor Commencement and even compared to those in the Field House. On top of that, a more normal Troy May day of sun, overcast, or even a light rain—with standard-issue rain ponchos, of course! —sitting outside on campus would be much preferable to the dreary Pepsi. My parents and I drove by last year’s Commencement setup, and I would have been very happy to sit on Harkness Field last year.
There are no doubt other considerations, such as cost, that I haven’t hit upon, that also point to the wisdom of having Commencement on campus, but the best reason is the feel of breathing your last breath as a student of RPI in the fresh air on campus, and not the stale air in the Pepsi. Backup plans must be made, to be sure, but the primary plan should be an on-campus Commencement.
Matt Rudary
ELEC ‘02
