by Chelsea Zhao
The class of 2021 Candle and Rose ceremony, with no guests, will stream live on May 8.
The virtual commencement ceremony is planned on Sunday, May 9 at 1 p.m. for undergraduates and 2:30 p.m. for graduates.
Class of 2020 candle & rose ceremony for both graduates and undergraduates, is on Friday, May 7th. Regalia is optional for commencement but required for candle and rose.
Baccalaureate mass livestreams on May 6 at 6:00 p.m. for graduates of both classes.
Dominican University will cooperate with Full Measure in streamlining the commencement ceremony for the graduates.
The graduation committee is responsible for event planning, logistics and institutional identity. The committee is made of the administration on-campus with no student representation.
In regard to the virtual commencement and in-person candle and rose, Norah Collins Pienta said the reason for a hybrid arrangement is due to the attribute of the ceremonies.
“Unfortunately, we are still not being able to do commencement in person, so we want to provide the opportunity for candle and rose because of the different nature of that ceremony” Pienta said. She states that because candle and rose is an out-door event, it is easier to keep track of registration.
“We made decisions to recognize that and to be authentically and distinctively Dominican in the way we celebrate the successes of students” Collins said.
Donna Carroll said that she trusts the outside vendor who is specialized in handling the virtual ceremony and hope students will find the virtual commencement as “satisfying as it can possibly be for a virtual event”.
Carroll said she believed the arrangement was the right decision. She said that she is “delighted” that Dominican University is keeping 2021 ceremony in May.
“I’ve been involved in the planning, I reviewed the recommendation” Carroll said. “I think the balance between the virtual ceremony, and face-to-face candle and rose, I think it’s a good balance.”
“And probably more than anybody else on the faculty or staff, I personally know how those seniors feel, because it’s my commencement too, in a way” Carroll said. “So I would do everything I can to make it as beautiful and as celebratory as we possibly can.”
Isabelle Schindler, a graduate from class of 2021, said most students expect the ceremony to be in-person.
“I’ve heard other 2021 graduates share my opinions about the ceremony. We’re not happy. We work hard and an in-person ceremony is a great way to commemorate and celebrate all that we’ve done in school” Schindler said.
“I’m expecting the ceremony to be anticlimactic,” Schindler said. “I’m guessing it’s over Zoom and I’ll probably just be sitting in my living room. My graduation ceremony is honestly not something I’m looking forward to anymore.”
Emily Sanabria, a graduate from Class of 2020, said she is disappointed that guests are not allowed for the ceremony in May 2021.
“I think that the ceremony in May 2021 will be fair overall and it will be a lot like what Dominican promised last year” Sanabria said. “The only thing I think is not fair, and that is different from what was promised last year, is that we can’t have guests, so our parents and other family and professors can’t watch us at the ceremony”.
Sanabria believed that the ceremony should be postponed until August, after people were vaccinated and bringing guests will be feasible. However, she also mentioned apprehension if a postponement will mean no ceremony at all.
Sanabria said she plans on attending the ceremony if it does not interfere with her work schedule. She said that other 2020 graduates she spoke to do not plan to attend because “they have moved on with their new jobs or with currently attending graduate school.” Still other graduates who are not employed or enrolled in grad school might want to attend “because they haven’t moved on from Dominican University yet”.
qzhao@my.dom.edu
