Mercer commencement moved to Five Star Stadium for 2019
The commencement ceremony has outgrown it’s usual spot in Hawkins Arena
Photo courtesy of Rick Cameron.
Mercer University will relocate undergraduate commencement ceremonies from Hawkins Arena to Five Star Stadium this year due to increased class size.
Instead of the usual starting time of Saturday at 3:30 p.m., commencement will now take place at 8:15 a.m. Monday, May 13.
“For several years now we have been holding a morning commencement on the Atlanta campus that draws 9,000 participants, so we have experience staging large outdoor ceremonies,” Larry Brumley, senior vice president for marketing communications & Mercer chief of staff, said in an email.
Changing the time of the ceremony to the early morning was in order to avoid thunderstorms and combat the heat, Brumley said.
The change of location will also allow students to invite eight to 10 guests to attend commencement.
Parking will remain in the same location, and guests will not have assigned seating.
“Mercer is following the practice of many other prestigious institutions that hold outdoor ceremonies, including Emory University and the University of Georgia,” Brumley said.
The decision was made “based on input from students and after considering a variety of scenarios,” according to an email from Provost David Scott Davis.
For Arlette Hernandez, a senior global health studies major, the change means her eight to 10 seats will be empty as she receives her degree.
“I’m sure a lot of other students have parents who work regular full-time jobs who do not have the income or ability to take a day off work,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez’s parents both work full-time jobs, Monday through Friday. Mercer’s commencement has typically been held on Saturdays.
“Instead of being able to celebrate with my parents, I will be alone when your graduation should be a time celebrating with your family, especially since they helped you so much along the way,” Hernandez said.
Clark Myers, a senior biology major, welcomes the change and ability to invite more guests.
“One of the most stressful parts of graduation that students face is trying to find additional tickets beyond the few they are given, or try to figure out who is going to get left out,” Myers said.
The decision was “not arrived at lightly,” Brumley said. “There is no perfect date or time that will accommodate everyone’s preferences.”
As a parent of a Senior who will be graduating from Mercer in May 2019, I thought the date for the Commencement Ceremonies had to have been printed incorrectly on the calendar since it was listed as May 13, 2019 on a Monday. I’ve never heard of any college having graduation on a Monday of all days; a work day for most parents and and extended families. I called the Registrar’s office and learned it was not a mistake and that indeed Graduation is on a Monday morning. I’m really surprised by what I believe is such a poor and illogical decision.
Logically speaking, this decision will most definitely prevent some family members of graduating Mercer students who work on a Monday from being able to attend and share in the celebration of a loved ones huge moment of accomplishment in their life. And not only is a Monday a bad choice for a graduation day but at 8:15am in the morning on a work week?? The traffic for families from out of town will be worse and I can foresee some families having to pay additional expenses for lodging the night before in Macon in able to attend their child’s graduation because they live too far to make it on time for an 8:15am graduation on a Monday morning heavy traffic work day.
Although I think it’s a wonderful decision that graduation ceremonies will be in the Five Star Stadium and that additional tickets/seats are available, I believe the decision to have graduation on a Monday lacks foresight and is a very poor choice. When comparing the decision to other colleges as the article states, its apparent that the information collected by whomever gathered the data failed to realize that almost all other colleges have their Commencement Ceremonies in the morning outside on a Saturday or a Sunday, as they should be, and not a Monday. A morning ceremony on a Saturday or Sunday is an excellent choice. But a Monday morning??? A decision that lacks logic and strategic planning. Why not keep it on a Saturday or Sunday and in the morning at the Five Star Stadium? This was very possible for the 2019 Graduating Class had more insight and planning been put forth.
After four years of supporting Mercer University as a parent, I believe I’ve earned my place to speak frankly on such an important issue. It’s a “bummer” the 2019 Graduating Class has to have a Monday Graduation especially when other dates on a weekend at the Five Star Stadium could have been decided upon for the best interest of “all” Mercer Seniors who are graduating. I feel bad for those students such as Ms. Hernandez who stated in the article that she will have no family in attendance to celebrate and share in her big life moment of accomplishment because of this decision for a Monday graduation.
It’s wonderful the 2019 graduation ceremony will be outside in the Five Star Stadium but hopefully for the next Graduating Class in 2020 it won’t be for them a Monday morning Commencement Ceremony date.
Thank you for the opportunity to voice a parent opinion!
Sincerely,
Sharon Power