You’re graduating! How exciting!
Homework and exams are nearly a thing of the past, and you’ve got a graduation ceremony coming up. You’re going to take your place in University of Oregon history like every Duck graduate since the first class in 1878. Your parents, siblings, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles can’t wait to see you walk across that stage and receive your degree.
But what if you don’t want to walk? Some people don’t. It’s actually not such an earth-shattering idea.
“I made the decision not to walk at graduation because it’s just not as big of a deal as it was when I graduated high school,” sociology major Steven Clifford said. “I do not feel the need to go through a graduation to realize my accomplishment.”
“I’m not much for ceremonies and stuff, and I don’t have many relatives that would be able to come to it, so there wouldn’t be all that much of a celebration or anything,” agrees Caleb Chenoweth, a third-year senior and computer science major.
The thrill of graduating from college is exceeding what’s expected of you. Education is contagious: The world needs scholars to spread their knowledge to others. You have a much greater education than most of the world’s population.
But there is no school-sponsored grad night party in college. You and your friends are adults, so you can go out and make your own good time. Do you really want to sit for a long time and listen to the faculty read other people’s names? Have you ever met the dean? Do you recognize any of the professors from your department? Do your friends share a major with you? If not, you won’t see them during the ceremony anyway. It’s also possible that those friends aren’t graduating yet because they’re younger than you or they have a more intensive degree plan that takes longer to complete.
Finding a job or internship before graduation makes attending the commencement ceremony insignificant.
“I wanted to keep my schedule for after school as free as possible, because I’m not sure if my plans will require me to leave right away,” Chenoweth added. “I’m frugal and didn’t want to spend money.”
The time and cost of graduation is one that many find unnecessary — you’re graduating either way, so you don’t need a cap and gown, a memory book or a class ring (though they would look fantastic as part of your mother’s memory shrine). It’s better to make yourself as available as possible right after you graduate, to appeal to a new employer whom you hope is looking for a new worker with lots of flexibility.
Skipping the ceremony is probably convenient for your friends and relatives, too. They’ll be able to call you on the phone and send cards — which already happens — instead of having to get time off from work to drive or fly all the way to Eugene. They will not think differently of you because you didn’t walk. They’ll remember that you earned a college degree, not that you weren’t at your elective graduation ceremony. Your mother will still tell the mailman and people in line at the grocery store all about how her son is about to renovate the architecture industry, not about the sit-and-stare event you didn’t attend.
Employers are the least likely to be bothered by a non-walking graduate — a term doesn’t exist because it matters so little. You will not be turned down from a job because a manager questions your sense of honor and tradition — they won’t say, “I see that you were in the third percentile of your class with a 4.0 grade point average, but we simply cannot take a risk in hiring someone who didn’t shake the dean’s hand. You disgust me.”
Instead, employers will look at your work history and your character. Do you walk proudly and shake hands with a winning smile? If so, you will be just fine.
This writer, however, will attend next month’s graduation ceremony because it’s a part of the due process; it’s what you do. A wave of relatives will descend upon Eugene to celebrate and welcome their new graduate because his accomplishment is a culmination of their support throughout his life. He doesn’t feel that walking is crucial to finishing college, but it’s a fun time for all to enjoy and it’s a reason to become the center of attention for a weekend. For this writer, it’s a time of guaranteed fun.
But whatever your decision, it’s entirely up to you. It only matters that a University of Oregon diploma, the pinnacle of your educational pursuits, is yours forever.
Jacob Rian Mcneal
Special Sections Reporter
[email protected]