To whom it may concern,

We, The Class of 2017, would like to express our concern about the venue provided for us during our graduation commencement. First off, most of us pay a high tuition, even with our scholarships. We would like to see our tuition dollars at work. With the amount of money we pay per year, you should be providing your hard working students with a suitable graduation venue. It is not only the students that are infuriated and extremely disappointed by this, but our parents are too. A lot of our parents help us pay for college, and they want to see their money put to work as well. Our parents want to share our special day with us in a larger and more decorated venue. They deserve to see their child be treated properly, and be provided with a more suitable place for a ceremony. Graduation is just as special to them as it is to us. Our parents are not happy with this decision whatsoever. They waited twenty-two years, give or take, for this special day, and now it is simply not as special for any of us.

We worked so hard and tirelessly for four years to walk across that big stage at the Prudential Center, or elsewhere for that matter. In the email provided to us regarding our graduation, it was stated that “This year the academic journey of our graduates will come full circle and end here on campus where it began.” Quite frankly, that is the exact opposite of what we want. There is no correlation between our commencement ceremony and making this come full circle to where our academic journey began. We would like our journey to end elsewhere. It’s bad enough that we don’t have a commencement speaker, so please do not take this privilege away from us too. Graduating from college is one of life’s greatest accomplishments. At times, we were so stressed, struggled with our academics, spent hours upon end in the library, and gave up so much just to get that A and keep our GPA’s up. Even that right there is something to celebrate.

Speaking of family and friends, with such a small venue, limited tickets will be provided. Some students have large families. We are not even talking about extended families, a lot of us have several siblings who deserve to see the most special day of our lives, and celebrate with us. With three separate ceremonies happening, we also cannot see some of our closest friends graduate if they are in different schools. At Seton Hall, as you know, we are a community. It is a small and very close knit community. We want to see each other graduate because we know so many people outside of our majors and schools. Having three separate ceremonies also prevents us from meeting with our friends afterward and spending what could potentially be our last moments with them. Graduation is bittersweet, but saying goodbye to our best friends is probably one of the hardest parts. Please give us that opportunity to share these fine moments with the ones who mean so much to us.

In closing, we ask you to please reconsider your decision regarding the venue for our commencement ceremony. This decision has upset so many students, parents, and friends of ours. We deserve better on the most special day of our lives, and we have the right to spend this most special day with the ones we love.

Thank You,                                                                                                           Seton Hall University Class of 2017