2020 and 2021 graduates have had it rough. Our studies were cut short, we suffered the perils of online teaching and lockdowns whilst studying. We haven’t had the chance to properly celebrate completing our degrees. 

Many of us were looking forward to the promised spring 2022 graduation at Wills Memorial, the heart of our campus, as a way to commemorate the formative years we all spent at Bristol.

Being told now that our graduation will be held at Ashton Gate Stadium is salt in a wound. The stadium is characterless, impersonal and completely irrelevant to our time at Bristol. It is 2 miles away from the campus and many students have never been there. Whereas, Wills Memorial is an iconic venue that students of the University of Bristol spend many hours studying in, walking around and admiring. It is the place we show off to our friends and family when they come to visit. 

It has been used for graduation ceremonies for years, so why not now?