A petition to urge the University of Warwick to hold in-person graduation ceremonies this year (in July 2021) for students who graduated in 2020 and for students who are expected to graduate in 2021

I graduated from the University of Warwick in 2020. Although I received a degree certificate, I never had the chance to attend a graduation ceremony, a ceremony where students can celebrate their achievements with their classmates one last time before they move onto the next stage of their lives.

I am not the only one in this situation. There are many more like me who graduated in 2020 who are unfortunately in the same position. Students who are expected to graduate in 2021 will also be in the same position if the University of Warwick does not change its mind regarding its graduation ceremonies.

On Thursday 2nd April 2020, I received an email from the University of Warwick saying, “We are working hard to reschedule the ceremonies on alternative dates later on in the 2020/21 academic year.” This means the University of Warwick explicitly stated that it is committed to holding an in-person graduation ceremony.

However, on Friday 29th January 2021, I received another email from the University of Warwick saying, “Therefore, with regret, our plans to hold graduation events in 2021 have had to be postponed.”

It is important to note, however, that the Prime Minister aims to lift all legal limits on social contact from the 21st June 2021 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56158405

Therefore, it would be reasonable to urge the University of Warwick to reverse their postponement of in-person graduation ceremonies in light of the improving situation thanks to the UK’s exceptional vaccine programme. The earlier the University of Warwick reverses this postponement, the more time they can have to prepare for these in-person graduation ceremonies.

My argumentation in support of the reversal of the postponement of in-person graduation ceremonies is as follows:

• The University of Warwick made a commitment in writing to hold in-person graduation ceremonies. This commitment should be kept and fulfilled as soon as possible.
• If plans can be changed when the pandemic situation deteriorates, it would be logical to assume the reverse and that plans can also be changed when the pandemic situation improves (which it has). A change in the situation, good or bad, should lead to a change in plans. The university should act in a consistent and fair manner.
• All University of Warwick students, including the class of 2020 and the class of 2021, have suffered greatly because of the pandemic. They do not need to suffer any more by having their in-person graduation ceremonies postponed (again (for the class of 2020)).
• Postponing in-person graduation ceremonies will increase the backlog of students who want to attend graduation ceremonies. This will make future ceremonies lower quality and more difficult to plan.
• Postponing in-person graduation ceremonies makes it more difficult for students to attend graduation ceremonies. It would be easier for students to attend graduation ceremonies when they are held promptly (when, for example, students still have a place to live near the university, students have yet to start their careers, etc.).
• Postponing in-person graduation ceremonies makes it more difficult for international students to attend graduation ceremonies. They would have to return to the UK at a later time and may have to apply for new visas.
• The reputation of the University of Warwick is, frankly, in tatters. Student have been failed repeatedly. For example: the University of Warwick’s library is still closed despite the fact students are still paying tuition fees and despite the fact other universities have opened their libraries; the University of Warwick is setting students up for failure by refusing to implement a proper safety net despite the difficult situation everyone is in; the University of Warwick decided to revoke its guarantee of post-year abroad, on-campus accommodation which means students are forced to somehow try and find a place to live near the University of Warwick despite not even being in the country and so they risk becoming homeless in their final year; the University of Warwick failed catastrophically in the 2018/2019 academic year by not being able to produce exam timetables in an acceptable and prompt manner; the University of Warwick worked on its so-called “Warwick in California” project which was eventually cancelled instead of focussing on the needs of its paying students. The students of the University of Warwick deserve better than this. Reversing the postponement of in-person graduation ceremonies would help repair the University of Warwick’s reputation and repair relations between the University of Warwick and its paying students.

Therefore, this petition calls on the University of Warwick to hold in-person graduation ceremonies this year (in July 2021) for students who graduated in 2020 and for students who are expected to graduate in 2021.

The class of 2020 and the class of 2021 of the University of Warwick require your support and I encourage everyone to sign this petition.

Thank you.

Photo by Rwendland from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Amphitheatre,_Warwick_University.JPG