Image from conncoll.edu
Last Thursday, SGA suggested starting a petition to allow graduating seniors an additional day after Commencement to pack and and prepare to leave campus. The editorial board of the Voice supports this endeavor wholeheartedly. The day of graduation is a juggling act: students are caught between saying goodbye to friends, wrapping up old business at school, and welcoming family members, some of whom are visiting campus for the first time. The night before is often a sleepless countdown to a final goodbye.
Asking a student, on this day, to tear off their dress clothes to pack their belongings into a UHaul, with Moms holding diplomas and uncles lingering in hallways, seems unfair. The implicit assumption behind making Sunday move-out day is that we should be packing through Senior Week. And yet the College is explicitly providing us ample opportunities to bask in each others’ company, unwinding and making memories at open bar events and foam parties. In reality, we’re packing the day we graduate. This makes leaving even harder. We, and our parents, deserve a day to celebrate without a curt reminder not to forget to hand in our camel cards on the way out.
Vassar College allows its students to stay in campus housing until the Monday after at 5 PM. Syracuse is allowed two days after graduation, and Ithaca lets most students to leave within the week. We understand that there may be complications due to our status as graduated students. This could be solved with a mere contract to sign. The facilities do not need to be kept open unduly – it will be mid-May, so providing heat won’t be a problem.
Ends are as important as beginnings. This is a simple matter to rectify that will relieve a tremendous amount of stress on students the day they graduate. We stand behind SGA, encourage seniors to also speak up, and look forward to seeing this change actualized.
I don’t attend Conn, but I am a senior at a NESCAC school that allows graduated seniors to stay on campus the night after commencement. I just want to note that, in addition to all of the legitimate emotional and time-crunch reasons you’ve listed here, it is important for the college to provide flexibility for students who need to travel great distances or fly home; flight schedules may not allow for an evening flight to their destination, meaning being forced out of their dorm would require them to pay for lodging until they could catch a flight. This is an important equity issue!