We, the undersigned, request that Boston College President William J. Leahy, SJ, Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigly, and the Board of Trustees of Boston College allow parents and guardians of 2021 Boston College graduates to attend the May 24, 2021 commencement ceremonies in person.

We believe not allowing graduates to celebrate this special day with their parents and guardians will do harm to graduates, their families and Boston College.

After a very difficult last 15 months BC students have endured with lockdowns, quarantines, remote learning, and lack of extracurricular activities, we were very surprised and frustrated to see Fr. Leahy's letter stating parents could not attend the 2021 commencement.  The graduates have had a less than optimal senior year to say the least, and now BC has made the decision that no family members can celebrate graduation with them. Parents and graduates have paid for four years of BC tuition, housing and fees, and they can't attend graduation together? 

Vaccines, masks, physical distancing, deteriorating mental health are all reasons why you should allow family members, at least parents, to attend commencement.  Most graduates and parents will be vaccinated by graduation day. Fr. Leahy's letter gave no explanation for this decision.  Today, baseball games have over 40,000 people in attendance, but BC can’t have 7,000 parents in Alumni Stadium? We don’t understand how a top ranked university with many intelligent individuals can’t devise a plan that will include parents.  If the Texas Rangers can figure it out, we sure would hope Boston College could figure it out with 1/4 as many people in attendance.  This decision certainly is a step backward in endearing graduates and families to BC in the short and long-term.

Here are the facts:

Boston College President William P. Leahy, SJ has announced parents of graduates will NOT be allowed to attend their child's graduation ceremony; and,

Boston College Commencement Ceremony will be held in the outdoor 44,500 seat capacity Alumni Stadium; and, 

There will be approximately 3,500 undergraduate and graduate students going through commencement, so if each student had two parents or guardians attend the ceremony, there would be approximately a total of 10,500 in attendance in the outdoor venue.

Many collegiate and professional sports teams have attendance at both indoor and outdoor venues between 10,000 and 40,000 people with out any covid incidents; BC could allow 10,500 people in the stadium, which would be less than 25% of capacity, with proper physical distancing and nearly no risk of covid. 

Fr. Leahy and the Board of Trustees, we ask you to change your decision and allow your customers who pay your salaries to attend the graduation they paid for.