What makes the graduation ceremony significant are the little details - the calling of names and recognition of academic achievements. As students of West Chester University in Pennsylvania (WCUPA), we have spent years immersing ourselves in studies, bracing ourselves against challenges, the long studying nights, juggling between work and paying tuition. We have formed deep and meaningful bonds with peers and faculty. All of this, culminating at the graduation ceremony - where the dream of hearing our names called out loud was supposed to come to fruition.

The university has decided to change this tradition by using artificial intelligence to announce the names of the graduates instead of a human announcer. Moreover, despite our hard work, WCUPA will also refrain from acknowledging our academic achievements such as “cum laude, summa cum laude, etc.” This impersonal approach deprives us of the personal touch that enhances the emotional significance of the ceremony.

We, as students, want to challenge this decision, stressing the need for a human announcer at our graduation ceremony, thus preserving the tradition and personalization that this momentous occasion warrants.

Therefore, we ask for your support in signing this petition that calls WCUPA to reconsider this decision and reestablish the use of human announcers who will rightly appreciate each graduate's unique name and hard-earned academic accomplishments. Let us add empathy and personalization to technology, rather than substituting it entirely.