Ducks @ Oregon - University of Oregon

Graduation Scheduling

Katie D.

July 22, 2009 - 3:00 PM

A month ago I was horrified when a professor informed my class that our graduation in June of 2010 had been rescheduled for the week before finals. That means walking graduation and then returning to classes, rather than beginning our post-graduate lives.

This rescheduling was decided by former University of Oregon President David Frohnmayer to better accommodate the NCAA Track and field Championships that will be taking place at the UO during the weekend of June 9-12. His concern was that the UO could not host these two large events simultaneously, and that the influx of people in Eugene would overwhelm the hotels and other public amenities.

Now, you might have already gathered that I am not much of a sports fan. But my concern over the rescheduling of my graduation went much deeper than this. I'm glad that the UO has a strong sports program. I'm proud of my peers who are both athletes and students, just as I am proud of my peers who perform in theater productions, compose orchestral pieces, intern at nonprofits, and publish their articles, photography, poetry, or novels. It is a privilege to live and study among such a diverse and talented student population.

But I am concerned when the University dramatically privileges one part of the student body at the expense of the rest. It concerns all graduating seniors of 2010 if our graduation is rescheduled. Other students and professors noted publicly this apparent imbalance between the academic and athletic interests of the University community. This type of decision is important. It concerns our families who will be there to see us graduate, only to arrive amidst pre-finals panic, without the time to focus on the celebration of this enormous milestone. This change was an act of disrespect to our professors, who would be placed in the awkward role of either having to re-arrange their syllabus to allow for early testing, or compromise the results from their final exams, which could affect class standing, GPA, Honors status, or even graduation eligibility.

In any event, I can now celebrate the reversal of these inconveniences and imbalances. The new University of Oregon President, Richard Lariviere, in consultation with the Provost, professors, and others, has decided that graduation will be held on the regularly scheduled date. I will graduate from the University of Oregon on June 12, 2010. I will have completed all of my courses, know my finals scores, and be able to celebrate with the full participation of my Oregon friends and Colorado family.

So, class of 2010, get ready! Get your family to book hotels early, since we'll be sharing Eugene with the Track and Field types. Study hard, live it up! Make some plans for that week after graduation: let's use that week to celebrate before settling down into our new post-graduate lives.