As a member of the graduating Class of 2020, I am writing on behalf of all of the seniors to find out what Syracuse administration has planned if our scheduled Graduation ceremony is forced to be cancelled due to the pandemic. I am sure you can imagine how painful it is to have our last semester cut short at our beloved SU, along with all of the activities and celebrations that have been planned for our friends and families.  

As the 2020 graduating seniors of the Syracuse University are attempting to adjust to our new online education platform since the campus has officially been cancelled for the semester, we are now further awaiting more updates from the university. With graduation is only 7 weeks away, and the State of New York banning gatherings of more than 50 people we know this news is essentially inevitable. We have a number of questions:

Is the University looking at ways to celebrate 2020 graduates in the future?  What are the other options available to us. After four years of IMMENSE effort put into this university, we deserve to look forward to a solidified date on the calendar for a postponed graduation ceremony.  

After so much hard work and dedication to earning our degrees, especially those who are 1st generation college students, international students that traveled across the world, and those that have thousands of dollars in student loans, we feel very strongly that we deserve a graduation ceremony. We are sincerely hoping that you are considering an alternative date further out in the year, should the scheduled date not be viable.  If so, it would certainly put the senior class at ease if that information could be distributed out as soon as possible. 

Although it is understood that alternative options may be canceled due to the state of the world at that time, the mere possibility of getting to celebrate our time here at Syracuse University is something my classmates and I deserve.