Plans for Commencement 2002 are under way, and the results are a mixed bag. On the one hand, there are commendable innovations like the planned large screens to allow those at the back of the large crowd to see the ceremony better, especially at that all-important moment when their very own graduate walks across that stage.
On the other hand, however, the negative aspects of this year's plans cannot be overlooked. The first of these is the location itself. Garland Field, located on the forsaken edge of the campus butting up to the Wyman Park Medical Center's parking lot, is not place for a Commencement - particularly at a University blessed, as ours is, with what is, after all, a very attractive campus. For architectural eye-candy, it features Garland Hall, the only building on campus which appears not to bother making the effort to fit in with the Federal architecture of the campus, and the newly-constructed Clark Hall, which, frankly, looks like a misbegotten high-school gymnasium; it's probably the least-attractive green space on the campus. Why, when we have the beautiful vista of Gilman Hall, on a quad framed with the academic buildings where most of us have spent the lion's share of our college years, must we be confined to this sodden corner?
The administration's rationale for why this is not possible is twofold: firstly, that the new brick paths (thank you, Anonymous Donor) with their oh-so-attractive marble pavers, cannot handle the vehicle traffic required to set up the Commencement facilities (shades of Spring Fair), and secondly, that there is a danger of damaging the newly-installed irrigation system when driving stakes into the ground.
Allow us to respond. As regards the first objection, the stupidity and lack of foresight demonstrated by the administration in laying down the new paths in such a way that they cannot handle vehicle traffic, even for the relatively short time for which it is necessary, need not be mentioned, particularly when the freshman quad directly adjacent is designed for such traffic. With such a pressing occasion as Commencement, we would imagine that some accommodation could be made. Scratch that - must be made. Secondly, if the irrigation system was just installed last summer, shouldn't there be a map, showing the location of all the underground bells and whistles which make the system run? And wouldn't this map allow workers to avoid the pitfall of damaging the system?
Of course, a great deal of this fuss could be avoided if the University would opt for the simpler alternative of staging an open-air Commencement, thereby avoiding the hassle and expense of setting up the tent in the first place.
Which brings us to our next point.
The limited capacity of the tend, according to Class of 2002 President Stephen Goutman, will force seniors to be limited to four tickets apiece for family members. This borders on the unconscionable. To force graduates to pick and choose among those most dear to their hearts, those for whom this is among the proudest days they will ever experience, is absurd and downright wrong. What's more, to announce this change only now, when many, if not most, students have already made reservations for their families due to massive hotel crowding in the Baltimore area at Commencement time (the Doubletree Inn at the Colonnade has been booked for months for Commencement), is unfair to graduating seniors as a body. By staging an open-air Commencement, the problem could be avoided, graduates could include all their loved ones, and generally everyone would be better off. We would like to be the first to say that we are more than willing to sit with umbrellas at Commencement if that is what is required. A little rain is a small price to pay.
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