On March 11th, Dean Coleman announced that CLA would not have an in-person ceremony due to the COVID-19 restrictions in the state of Minnesota and the inability to know the state of COVID in the coming months. According to the Dean, CLA is the “only college at the U with so many graduating students that we traditionally host two undergraduate Commencement ceremonies in the 3M Arena at Mariucci, with half our graduates attending in the morning and the other half in the afternoon.”  Furthermore, the restrictions set by the state made it “not feasible for CLA to host” its Commencement in person. Many CLA students were saddened by this news but understood the restrictions that the college faced. However, since March 11, more colleges have announced their plans for Commencement ceremonies. Some are planning to host in-person ceremonies and are doing so by not only accommodating the Minnesota COVID-19 guidelines but also by accommodating their number of graduating seniors. To hear of other colleges accomplishing a safe plan to have ceremonies is heartwarming, but it is also disheartening to think of seeing our peers have the ability to walk across the stage while we have a virtual ceremony. 

After this news, many of us had to ask ourselves: “has CLA even attempted to come up with a safe plan to host an in-person graduation ceremony?” After completing our own research by reading the constantly evolving Minnesota COVID-19 guidelines as well as retrieving the number of CLA seniors graduating, we think that the Dean’s office has put little effort or creativity into celebrating its graduating seniors. We have come up with an alternative plan for the Dean to consider that follows the state’s guidelines. While we understand the need to keep everyone safe, there are feasible ways to do a safe in-person ceremony. 

Though we recognize that the office has already committed to a virtual ceremony option, we would like to request an in-person option for commencement for students who would prefer to opt into this option. Currently, CLA has 4,722 students with enough credits to be considered seniors. Of those students, it is estimated that roughly 4,000 will graduate this semester, and historically an estimated 2,700 opt-in for commencement. 

According to CDC guidelines, ‘A “venue’ is a physical space or area used to perform activities or conduct events. A venue may be a space or area that is public or private, indoors or outdoors, with defined or undefined perimeters and accessible with or without a cost to an attendee. A physical space or area is a venue if the actions, conduct, or decisions of a business or other entity, including an event organizer, resulting in members of the public assembling or gathering in a space or area for a common or collective activity or event.” Additionally, according to the MN Governor’s office, “Effective March 31. 2021 at 11:59 p.m., larger venues, restaurants, gyms, and pools will be able to expand their occupancy per the Stay Safe Guidance (staysafe.mn.gov/industry-guidance/index.jsp)”. 

In his latest email to students, Dean Coleman claimed:

“We are the only college at the U with so many graduating students that we traditionally host two undergraduate Commencement ceremonies in the 3M Arena at Mariucci, with half our graduates attending in the morning and the other half in the afternoon. And we hold a third Commencement ceremony for students receiving their graduate degrees. In a typical year, around 2,600 CLA undergraduate and graduate students cross the stage to be recognized for their achievements, to the cheers of a total audience of approximately 20,000 guests."

With these parameters, it is not feasible for CLA to host our Commencement in person. We also know that even with an easing of travel restrictions by May, a great many of our graduating students and their families still would be unable to return to campus for Commencement.”

However, given the size of TCF Bank Stadium (an outdoor venue), we can safely seat 10,000 individuals in a safe manner that is compliant with CDC recommended guidelines (https://staysafe.mn.gov/capacity-calculator/index.jsp 

Given this data, it is completely feasible for CLA to host our Commencement in person, just as it is for the other colleges on this campus. We request the Dean’s office to gather data on how many UMN CLA students would be willing to opt in to an in-person commencement and create a plan to issue an in-person option for students so inclined to attend. The in-person commencement can be streamed so families can witness their graduates walking across the stage without the risk of attending the ceremony in person. The fact that no in-person option was explored by the CLA office is disheartening, and we demand more from the administration in our institution.