Ceremonies
transpire without problems
By Nicole Aromando
Summer Online Forty-Niner
 Commencement
2003 ceremonies at Cal State Long Beach
flew by with relative ease over the course
of three days. The ceremonies began Wednesday,
May 28 and continued through Thursday, ending
on Friday, May 30. Each day of ceremonies
consisted of two to three different colleges.
Executive Assistant to President Maxson,
Armando Contreras, said Business Administration
was by far the department with the largest
number of graduates.
“We almost had to add a fourth day to the
ceremonies just to fit them in, instead
we decided to start theirs a half hour earlier,”
Contreras said. Besides the problematic
size of the college of business administration
the ceremonies faced only one other problem,
the heat. Wednesday afternoon the warm weather
caused heat-related issues with several
spectators.
“The first day was pretty warm and we had
10 heat related medical aids,” Captain Stan
Skipworth of University Police, said. There
was also one individual who slipped and
fell and was transported from the ceremonies.
Disregarding the heat, the whole sequence
of ceremonies went very well, Skipworth
said. Everyone involved was content that
the ceremonies went rather smoothly, especially
considering their size.
This year’s ceremonies consisted of relatively
the same amount of graduates as other years,
Contreras said. He said that in the past
commencements usually had between 6,000
and 7,000 students. Of these students a
fair number are graduates with master’s
degrees. This can sometimes create a problem
come time for the commencement ceremonies.
“The departments that tend to graduate master’s
all go on the same day, grouped together,”
Contreras said. With all the students receiving
their master’s degrees on the same day,
it can seem as though there are quite a
few of them, he said. Those graduating with
master’s degrees seemed to offer a kind
of inspiration to those graduating with
their bachelor’s degrees.
“After seeing everyone receiving their master’s
it kind of makes me want to keep on going
and get one myself someday,” said, Danielle
Hall, graduating art major. Hall said commencement
is a major accomplishment and something
she will never forget.
“I think everyone that graduated this year
has accomplished a spectacular achievement
that they should be proud of,” Hall said.
The professors, friend, and family at the
ceremonies tended to agree. With the abundance
of balloons, Hawaiian leis, and bouquets
of flowers it was quite obvious that the
graduates were not the only ones proud of
themselves. Of course, the commencement
ceremonies wouldn’t be complete without
a celebration in honor of these accomplishments.
Each
of the ceremonies was followed by a reception
on the terrace of the University Student
Union. Guests and graduates were invited
to enjoy the receptions with a variety of
complementary appetizers and desserts. Most
of the students seemed too eager to run
and greet awaiting friends and family members
to care about the reception. Indeed the
lack of excitement over free food was truly
an indication that these graduates were
on their way to bigger and better things.
|
