A few Tisch graduates got together to write a letter to the administration about their decision to host the 2020 and 2021 graduation ceremonies at the NYU Skirball Center instead of Radio City Music Hall like we were promised. Sign this petition if you want your name on the letter below which will be sent to the Tisch administration.

Every year, NYU Tisch students graduate at the iconic Radio City Music Hall. The class of 2022 is getting their Tisch commencement ceremony at Radio City this May, so why can't we?

Here is the letter:

Dear Tisch School of the Arts Administration,

We have waited years for our moment to walk across the stage at Radio City Music Hall just like every other Tisch School of the Arts graduating class has done. For us artists, this is a moment we hope and dream of our entire lives. From the moment we began our college careers at Tisch, we were promised that one day we too would be able to celebrate our achievements at Radio City. 

Many Tisch graduates from the classes of 2020 and 2021 are flying to New York City from all over the world to finally get the chance to be honored by the school we loved so much. Our time at NYU was cut short and we have spent the past few years trying to navigate the arts and entertainment industries when there were few jobs available due to the pandemic. Each and every student deserves a light at the end of our college tunnel, especially after everything we have been through and the fact that we had to wait years to celebrate. 

When we learned that our graduation ceremony would be held at the NYU Skirball Center instead of the iconic Radio City Music Hall, we felt deeply disappointed and hurt by the Tisch commencement ceremony decision makers. Not to mention the lack of a guest speaker – the highlight of past Salutes which have included Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, and Molly Shannon. While still holding a ceremony for us is appreciated, the 2020 and 2021 graduates are being short changed from the ceremonies we were always promised. The many classes who graduated before us and all of the classes who will graduate after us received this same honor, so why is it any different for us? The Tisch class of 2022 is still graduating at Radio City Music Hall this May, why can’t we?

We all paid the same funds to receive equal treatment, so where is our funding for Radio City? What is it being used for if not on us? Holding the ceremony at Skirball instead of Radio City has made your 2020 and 2021 graduates feel like second rate, undeserving students, betrayed by the leadership we trusted. As alumni, we hope to one day give back to future classes and new generations of artists, but how can we feel good about giving to a school that has shown such a lack of respect towards us — 2 classes that have undergone such enormous challenges and profound disappointment? 

We understand that not everyone from the classes of 2020 and 2021 will be able to attend the ceremony. An idea for equity, while taking into account that some graduates may not be able to attend at this point in time, is to hold a joint ceremony honoring both the classes of 2020 and 2021 at Radio City Music Hall this May. 

For many of us, our senior year was heartbreaking. We left our beloved campus for spring break, never to return. Thesis films and performances were canceled, and our graduation turned into a Zoom ceremony in our living rooms. Many of us lost loved ones to the virus. Post-graduation we struggled to find jobs with ongoing layoffs, remote work, and theaters shut down. Yet we held onto the hope that one day we would walk across that stage at Radio City Music Hall, reunited again as a class of artists who persevered through it all. All we ask is to have this dream back, to regain just one small piece of everything we lost.

We will hold onto the wonderful memories we created at Tisch for the rest of our lives. We hope that we can look back on our graduation day and remember the excitement we had walking across the stage at Radio City Music Hall just as every Tisch graduate before us has done.

Sincerely,

The Tisch School of the Arts Classes of 2020 and 2021:

[Your name will be added here]