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Commencement
Sunday, May 11, 2008
The Commencement Planning Committee, a working group of student, faculty and staff representatives charged with developing the Commencement exercises, has provided this information to explain some of the key points about Commencement 2008. This information is particularly pertinent to graduating students and their families.
NOTE: If you are a graduating student and have not returned your confirmation card to the Office of Budgets and Planning, you are not confirmed as participating in Commencement. Please contact Deborah Cotter at cotterd@clarkson.edu or 315-268-6590 as soon as possible.
Please check this site for updates. Several links and telephone numbers are provided for your use. Please also feel free to contact Christina Lesyk, Commencement Planning Committee Chair, at clesyk@clarkson.edu or 315-268-6425 for information.
Commencement ceremonies for the Class of 2008 will be on Sunday, May 11, 2008. This will be Clarkson's 115th commencement. Exercises will be held in Cheel Arena in the Cheel Campus Center.
Weather permitting, the procession will form at 9 a.m. outside on the quad between the Cheel Campus Center and the CAMP building, and proceed to the arena. In case of bad weather, alternate procedures will be announced on this Web page and on radio station WSNN 99.3 FM. The procession and the ceremonies will be explained in detail at the rehearsal on Saturday, May 10.
Spectators should all plan to be in their seats by 10 a.m. Doors will open for guests with tickets at 9 a.m. Only doors into the arena from inside the Cheel Campus Center will be used for spectator entry. For their convenience, guests with disabilities may also enter directly into the arena through a side door near the front entrance of the Cheel Campus Center.
The procession will enter the arena promptly at 10:15 a.m. The procession will include more than 600 graduates, faculty and honored guests. Spectators are asked to remain seated during the procession to allow all to see better and be more comfortable as well.
Rehearsal
The rehearsal is extremely important! It is held on Saturday, May 10, at 9:30 a.m. in Cheel Arena. It is at this time that the details of seating, procession entry, recession exit, and awarding of diplomas will be explained. Graduates will need this information to tell guests where to look for them and where to meet them. It is also at rehearsal that guest tickets are issued to graduates who are participating in the exercises.
Attire
The basic attire for all graduating students is black academic regalia ("cap and gown") with a black tassel. In keeping with the formality of Commencement, additional adornments are limited. The variations allowed are as follows:
1) Students graduating with a master’s or doctoral degree:
- Please be sure to indicate that you are receiving either a master’s or doctoral degree when you order your regalia. Although the gowns for each type of degree are black, there are slight differences in cut and doctoral gowns also have black velvet bands.
- You must also order the appropriate colored hood for the degree received. Master’s degree candidates process into the arena wearing the hood. Doctoral degree candidates will have their hood placed on them on stage by their advisor.
3) Honor graduates with a GPA of 3.25 or higher will also receive a gold tassel.
4) Members of academic honor societies are also eligible to wear their designated stole, cord, or sash. Students possessing several such adornments should choose one.
A letter will be sent to graduating students' campus mailboxes informing them about regalia purchases through the University Bookstore. Regalia will be brought to Cheel Campus Center around the first week of March. For more information on regalia orders, please contact the bookstore at 315-268-3862 or at 315-265-9260.
Tickets
The number of graduates planning to participate and the limited number of seats that can be safely provided in the arena necessitate a firm procedure for the fair and equitable distribution of tickets. Each graduate who participates in the exercises will be given six tickets at rehearsal that admit the holder to the arena. The graduate does NOT need a ticket. Please note, however, that children having their own seats do need tickets as well as adults. If you know you will not need as many as six tickets, please alert Deborah Cotter at cotterd@clarkson.edu or at 315-268-6590 so your extra tickets can be redistributed to students who do need more. Seating is on a "first-come-first-served" basis. Be sure to give tickets to guests before the doors open. Graduates can arrange to have the tickets held at a table near the Cheel Campus Center's first-floor Grumman Information Desk for their guests if they can't deliver them personally. No one without a ticket will be admitted prior to the start of the exercises. Graduates should explain the ticket policy to their families and plan accordingly. If you would like to request extra tickets, please contact Deborah Cotter at cotterd@clarkson.edu. She may also be called at 315-268-6590.
Accommodations for Guests with Disabilities
The Cheel Campus Center and Cheel Arena are accessible to guests with disabilities. The following information has been provided to parents via a letter from Residence Life:
"A special section of the Cheel Arena is being reserved for those guests using wheelchairs. One family caregiver will be permitted to sit next to the guest's wheelchair. Two additional family ticket holders will be seated in an area adjacent to the reserved section. Due to space limitations, any additional family or friend ticket holders will need to seek general seating in the arena. Family or friends are requested to complete the green card mailed to them and return it before April 18 to assure seating explained above."
Guests desiring seating near restrooms or exits, or who have difficulty negotiating stairs, should plan to have a member of their party at the Cheel Campus Center when the doors open to secure seating in the top rows or on the arena floor. The ceremonies are sound amplified, and all seats have an excellent view of the stage.
Guests who are hard of hearing or visually impaired are also encouraged to have a party member arrive early to secure general seating that seems most suited. There will be an American Sign Language Interpreter on the stage. If we are made aware that a particular graduate will have a guest needing such interpretation services, the interpreter will sign that graduate’s name to the audience as well as interpreting the remarks and songs.
Simply put, please plan ahead so we can be of assistance. Individuals arriving "unannounced" may have to wait until all who made prior arrangements have been accommodated before we can attempt to meet their needs.
Flowers
Commencement Flowers will have flowers for sale in the Cheel Campus Center on Commencement day. For your convenience, you may also pre-order flowers from a special Clarkson link at CommencementFlowers.com. On Commencement day, you may then simply pick up your order at the Commencement Flowers kiosk in Cheel.
Honorary Degrees
At the ceremonies, the University will confer honorary degrees on several distinguished individuals in recognition of their achievements in a wide variety of endeavors and service. Each of these individuals has been charged to give a short, but important message to the graduates. More information about each of these individuals will be available in upcoming news releases.
Photos
In order to provide the individualized atmosphere where each graduate receives his or her own diploma personally and to complete the exercises in just over two hours, we are not able to allow parents and friends to come down the aisles to the stage for photos. The University has arranged for a professional photographer, Genesee Photo Systems, to take an individual photo of each graduate. The photographer is skilled and equipped to perform this service. This technique has been used very successfully since 1981.
Genesee Photo Systems will post proofs online on their Web site (http://www.geneseephoto.com) soon after the ceremony. You may order photographs directly from the Web site. Please contact Genesee Photo Systems at 800-345-7427 for additional photograph-related questions. Within safety limits, we will permit video cameras to operate from behind the last row of seats so long as the aisles are not congested.
Commencement DVDs
DVDs of the ceremony may be purchased through Dan Dullea, Center for Excellence in Communication, at 315-268-6428 or via e-mail at ded@clarkson.edu.
Children
Children requiring their own seating will need tickets. The exercises last for over two hours, a long time for an infant or young child. There is no nursery or childcare provided. Parents are asked to be sensitive to those around them so that all may enjoy the ceremonies. If parents must take their children out of the arena, they are welcome to continue watching the ceremony in the Kodak Lounge on the first floor of the Campus Center. We broadcast Commencement via Time Warner Cable on channel 30 (WCKN), and a feed (including audio) is provided in the Kodak Lounge on the first floor of Cheel Campus Center.
Other Events
There are other highlights of Senior Week and Commencement Weekend that bear mentioning. On Saturday, May 10, at 2 p.m., the Army and Air Force ROTC detachments will conduct their Commissioning Exercise in Cheel Arena. Please contact Cadet Amber Scott at 315-405-1165 or scottal@clarkson.edu or Captain Roy La Barbera at 315-268-7989 or rlabarbe@clarkson.edu for more details and updates.
In addition, on Saturday, May 10, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., there will be an Alumni Legacy Reception at the Gazebo on the lawn behind Bertrand H. Snell Hall. The rain location is in the atrium of Bertrand H. Snell Hall.
From 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., President Tony Collins and his wife, Karen, will host a reception at the President's House in honor of the graduates and their families. This is an excellent opportunity to introduce parents to faculty, staff, the University's Board of Trustees, and honorary degree recipients who will be there.
On Saturday, May 10, at 6 p.m., graduates will be honored at a nondenominational baccalaureate service at the United Methodist Church at 26 Main Street in Potsdam. All graduates, families and guests are welcome.
Senior Class events are also being planned for the week leading up to Commencement. Seniors should pay attention to class mailings, this Web page and the Integrator for details and changes. Information about these plans is usually helpful as graduates' guests and families determine the duration of their housing/motel reservations.
Housing
The Residence Life Housing Office each year coordinates the limited housing of guests of graduates on campus in residence halls. A letter detailing these accommodations has been mailed to students' home addresses. We recommend making reservations and submitting the required payment as soon as possible. While graduates living in residence halls or apartments will be allowed to remain on campus, all other students are reminded that the residence halls are closed as of noon on Saturday, May 3. For more information about campus housing for Commencement, please contact Mary Jane Jock at 315-268-6642.
Guests needing hotel accommodations are urged to make them as soon as they determine their needs. Local hotels tend to be booked for Commencement well in advance. Some hotel and motel listings are available at http://northcountryguide.com/tourism/lodging-dining/lodginghotelsmotels/.
Parking
Traffic on the hill will be, for the most part, two-way. The CAMP access road (off of U.S. Route 11, next to Robar's) will be one-way only and vehicles will be directed into the campus from Route 11. Parents staying in the residence halls should plan to walk to the Cheel Campus Center. Drivers will be assisted in discharging disabled guests close to the Cheel Campus Center main doors; however, the driver will then be directed onward for parking.
Travel
For information on traveling to Clarkson, please see Visit Us, or for maps and directions go directly to our Directions to Clarkson page.
Web Broadcast
Commencement will be broadcast live on the Internet at http://media.clarkson.edu beginning at 9 a.m.
For more information, please contact Christina Lesyk, Commencement Planning Committee chair, at clesyk@clarkson.edu or 315-268-6425.
Live Commencement Broadcast (available Sunday, May 11, only)
Order Commencement flowers from CommencementFlowers.com.
Order Commencement photographs from Genesee Photo.
Hotel & Motel Listings