Throughout the class of 2023's time at Merrimack College, we have endured plenty of hardships and broken promises. COVID took away almost a year and a half of our college experience while affecting an additional year. Promises that were advertised to us as incoming Freshman would turn out to be heavily delayed for years and vital resources were ripped from us in the school's mind boggling decision making processes. These decisions would see the students get no say in the controversial decisions being made about us. Now, the school has made one of their worst decisions in the four years we have been here.

The class of 2023 is enraged by the decision made by the upper management of Merrimack College who has decided to create three separate graduation times in the same day, of course without any input from their graduating class. No longer are we all graduating together, but segregated by the majors that we chose. The friends that we have made over the course of our times here will no longer be on the stage alongside us at the same time. Now we must wait up to eight and half hours after the first graduation begins before we finally see the rest of our friends receive the recognition and certificate that they so deserved after four long years of work. 

On a day that we should be celebrating the accomplishments of our fellow classmates and community members, we are now being stretched across an entire day just to celebrate with those we have become close with. Merrimack College has promoted and advertised the phrase "We Are One" for years. Now, we are not one. The class of 2023 came in as one and we would like to graduate as one.