Walking away from tradition

The strange-looking caps. The shapeless robes which unite us all. The thousands of beaming parents who sit restlessly in the audience. The distinguished faculty and President, appearing like royalty on the stage. These are the images of graduation. But what is this old ritual really about?

Changes to graduation are currently being discussed by the powers that be. These changes would mean that instead of having one main Tufts University undergraduate graduation for all Arts, Sciences, and Engineering students -- as has been the tradition -- there would be many smaller, individual department graduation ceremonies. Would this change be for the best? I am not positive, but I can't help but find myself feeling a great sense of loss associated with the idea of having separate ceremonies.

All I ask is that the many gains and losses be weighed carefully. Before any final decision is made, I think that all students, especially current seniors, should have the opportunity to voice their opinion on this very important issue. After all, it is our graduation. We've worked long and hard for four years to reach that day, and the majority of us should be happy with how the day is structured.

Almost four years ago, seniors stepped onto this beautiful campus for the first time as students. After nervously meeting our freshmen roommates and unpacking our belongings into an unfamiliar room, we were all invited to attend a matriculation ceremony. I had not been aware of this tradition but was struck by the feeling of unity as a large group of strangers set out on what was to be an amazing adventure. Many parents were also present on that day, and we probably all felt that the next time the entire class would be brought together -- graduation day -- was miles and miles down the road.

However, time passes all too quickly. We are no longer strangers. We are now a group of acquaintances, classmates, and true friends. Some of us have found a soul mate among the class of 2004. Others may have fallen in love. We began this journey together. We shared the failures and triumphs, good times and bad. Should we not end the journey together as well?

To avoid the boredom and endlessness of a single graduation ceremony, some schools do have separate department graduations instead. Other universities hold both types of ceremonies, which is perhaps another option that could be explored. However, most of the schools that hold only departmental ceremonies are much larger than Tufts.

One of the benefits of attending a fairly small school is that you can get to know a larger percentage of your classmates, and you can graduate in a single ceremony without it being ridiculously long. Some feel that two hours is too long to listen to the recitation of each senior's name, but in reality, what's two hours on a single day when compared to the four years we've spent together here at Tufts University? The truth is that a good number of us have sat through classes that last longer than this on a weekly basis.

I guess it comes down to the question I posed at the beginning of this article. What is graduation all about? What is the point? And what does it mean to the Class of 2004? These questions are not easy ones and must be closely examined. If our answer is that graduation is important and about publicly receiving a certain amount of personal attention and praise for our accomplishments or graduation means nothing to us, and we'd like to simply get it over with as quickly and painlessly as possible, then perhaps smaller departmental ceremonies make a lot of sense.

However, if graduation for us is more about being together with our friends and sharing this monumental day of success, then we may have problems with the idea of individual departmental graduations. The majority of us have friends who, for the most part, do not share a common major and this is a great thing which leads to an increased diversity among groups of friends.

Therefore, the thought of not watching these people, whom we have grown to care about and love, receive their diplomas is rather sad. Parents would also miss out on the opportunity to see those students graduate who have touched their children's lives in a very real way but do not study the same discipline.

I encourage any member of the Tufts community, especially my fellow classmates, to respond to this Viewpoint and let us know how you feel about this issue. I do not deny that there are certainly positive and negative aspects of both the traditional graduation ceremony and the new idea being proposed. Perhaps I will be persuaded otherwise, but for now, I must lean towards holding on to the traditional way.

In my mind, I have always envisioned feeling a mix of pride, sadness, and excitement as I hear my friends' names called aloud and watch as they walk to receive their diplomas; I think I may feel quite disappointed if this once-in-a-lifetime experience is taken away from me. Many of us have come to feel that our Tufts friends are like a second family, and in a way, to not be present to witness their graduation simply seems wrong.

Rachel Golden Luck is a senior majoring in Child Development.