Saluting college grads, no matter their sendoff

With the number of fully vaccinated Massachusetts residents now surpassing 2.5 million, commencement constraints imposed by many of our area colleges and universities may seem overdone, especially to those grads who won’t be able to enjoy tossing those mortarboards with their classmates.

If the public-health environment continues to improve as a result of further inoculations, 2021 should be the last COVID19 class, giving way to traditional graduations next spring.

That’s no consolation for the thousands of this year’s grads and their tuition-paying parents.

In their defense, the state’s improving COVID-19 picture came too late for those institutions of higher learning to significantly alter their commencement-related plans, an intricate exercise that takes months to formulate.

But a nimble few did manage to insert some normalcy into their ceremonies, for which they deserve credit and recognition.

At Fitchburg State University, close to 400 members of the Class of 2021 chose to take part in an appointment-only, inperson commencement program held in the Athletics and Recreation Center.

Spread over three days — April 29, April 30 and May 1 — the bonus graduation option served as a complement to the virtual commencement ceremonies taking place later in May.

“We were happy to create an opportunity for graduates and guests to share a safe but joyful acknowledgement of their accomplishment,” FSU Director of Public Relations Matthew Bruun told the newspaper. Participating graduates could bring up to four guests to watch them walk across the stage, where they were greeted by Chief Information Security Officer Sherry Horeanopoulos before collecting a diploma cover.

“It is amazing,” said grad Neve Palmier when asked how it felt to have her family and friends on hand for this special moment. “To have this as a way to celebrate is so important,” added the student representative on the FSU Commencement Committee.

Other schools will hold commencements tailored to their particular circumstances. That includes the University of Massachusetts system, where the Amherst campus will hold inperson graduations in May.

At UMass Lowell, seven ceremonies will be held, offering in-person and fully remote options. Graduates of both master’s and bachelor’s degree programs will be able to bring two guests with them to a series of brief, small ceremonies on Thursday, May 13, and Friday, May 14, at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell. They will be able walk in, receive their diploma covers and have an official photo taken before departing. An in-person ceremony for graduates receiving doctoral degrees is set for Wednesday, May 12.

UMass Boston will hold a virtual ceremony this spring, but after an outcry from students frustrated that they would still be charged the usual $200 graduation fee, school officials announced this past week that it would also hold an in-person graduation in September.

Anticipation mixed with frustration might be the theme of this spring’s commencement season. At Boston College, the school’s decision to limit commencement attendance to graduating students and school officials angered the more than 2,000 parents who’ve signed an online petition urging administrators to reconsider the guest policy.

Boston University took its commencement exclusion policy to the extreme. Graduating seniors at its ceremony at the school’s athletics stadium can’t invite any guests.

But some other area colleges also came up with imaginative ways to satisfy both grads and parents.

Northeastern, Suffolk, and Bentley universities are all separately holding in-person commencements for graduating students and a small number of their guests at Fenway Park, where caps and gowns will be the official uniforms of the day.

No matter the method, commencement, as the word suggests, signifies a new beginning, the next step in one’s life journey.

Graduation Day, as the song of the same name reminds, “… is a time for joy, a time for tears, a time we’ll treasure through the years …”