400 student capacity in venue
The University of Rhode Island has announced its plans for the 2021 commencement ceremony, answering one of the biggest questions seniors have had this academic year— what will graduation look like this May?
According to Dave Lavallee, the assistant director of communications for URI, it will look very similar to the adapted graduation ceremonies of other Rhode Island universities and colleges, such as Rhode Island College and Providence College.
“We’re excited that we’re able to do this,” Lavallee said. “We couldn’t even think of doing this last year.”
Commencement will be similar to years before: the dean of each college will still be giving a speech at the commencement ceremony and students will be able to cross the stage with their diplomas in hand.
Though commencement will take place in-person for graduating seniors during the weekend of May 21, family and friends will not be permitted to attend the ceremony in person. The only other people at the ceremony will be URI faculty and staff.
“We’re limiting it to just the people within the URI community to keep [everyone] safe,” Lavallee said. “But students will still have caps and gowns, they will still be given their diploma and there will still be a professional photographer.”
Though they are not able to attend, family and friends are encouraged to watch the event’s live stream.
According to Lavallee, many factors went into deciding the final plans for the graduation ceremony, including the updated Reopening Rhode Island plan from the state. As of March 19, outdoor venues of assembly have a 500-occupant capacity.
If this outdoor capacity lingers through May, URI is planning to have 400 seniors walk and around 100 faculty, staff and vendors in attendance.
Many aspects of the ceremony other than who can attend will also be different from past years. While commencement usually takes place on the Quad, this year, it will take place at Meade Stadium.
“We’re using Meade because there are ropes and a clear entrance and exit,” Lavallee said. “Normally students would be able to choose if they would like to stay and watch the rest of their peers receive their diploma, but this year that’s not an option. Once they get their degree they’re done. They’ll have to exit.”
Other measures that will be taken include: attendees will be six feet apart at all times, surfaces will be sanitized between each part of the ceremony, sanitization stations will be available and no food or beverages will be allowed inside of the stadium.
Even with all these changes in place, many students who are graduating are just happy that they get to have a commencement at all. John Church, a fifth-year senior at URI majoring in Pharmaceutical Science, is one of these students.
“I understand that student-only graduation isn’t ideal for a lot of people, but I think it’s for the best,” Church said. “I think it’s good that people who are graduating have the option to go to graduation if they want, and it’ll be safer with fewer people there.”
Church said that his only concern is that a possible surge in cases before graduation, such as the one on-campus last week, could result in commencement being canceled or it becoming a super-spreader event.
Lavallee said that the number of positive cases and the positivity rate have decreased since the most recent spike and that URI’s COVID-19 Task Force will continue working to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as commencement nears.
Any student who has completed their intent to graduate form will be receiving an email on April 1st with more information on in-person commencement. Lavallee advised students to check their email frequently for further graduation updates.