Difference between revisions of "Commencement"

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[[Image:Commencement.gif|thumb|University Commencement]]
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[[Image:Commencement.gif|thumb|[[University Commencement]]]]
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The bitter end, the big sleep, it all ends in tears... '''Commencement''' is the ceremony in which degrees are conferred. Also known as graduation. Not to be confused with [[Class Day]].
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The bitter end, the big sleep, it all ends in tears... '''Commencement''' is catch-all term for various ceremonies at which degrees are conferred, names are read, and proud parents get to take pictures. Also known as graduation.
  
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The first commencement exercises were held in [[1758]], which would make the [[2007]] Commencement the 250th. However the University likes to "count" the exercises that weren't held from [[1755]]-[[1757]] (no one graduated until 4 years after the school opened, duh.) So we're up to 253 for some reason.
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Commencement Week consists of a series of events:
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*[[Baccalaureate Service]]
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*[[University Commencement]]
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*[[Class Day]]
  
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Whereas many schools invite a major public figure to deliver the keynote address at commencement, at Columbia that privilege has always been held by the [[University President]]. So you're gonna have to listen to [[Bollinger]]. Luckily he's a better speaker than e-mail writer. The honorary degree recipients might be big names, though.
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While the schools and degree programs hold their own recogniztion ceremonies throughout the week, [[University Commencement]] is the official day of graduation for all Columbia students, as it's when degrees are officially conferred (even if you get the actual [[Diploma|diplomas]] on a different day of the week).
  
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This quirk results in the yearly complaints about the [[Class Day]] speaker for [[Columbia College]], which students expect to be high profile to make up for the commencement. Usually they're disappointed, though there have been some fine speakers in the past.
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The first commencement exercises were held in [[1758]], which would make the [[2007]] Commencement the 250th. However the University likes to "count" the exercises that weren't held from [[1755]]-[[1757]] (no one graduated until 4 years after the school opened, duh.) Nor do they count the fact that no one graduated between 1778, when King's College closed as a result of the Revolutionary War and 1787, when DeWitt Clinton became [[Columbia College]]'s first graduate (and transfer student). So we're up to 253 for some reason.
  
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In [[1811]], commencement was broken up by a student [[protest]]. Shocking.
 
  
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In [[1968]], the university president did not deliver the address, thanks to the fallout from the protests. Instead history professor [[Richard Hofstadter]] delivered the address to the students gathered in [[St. John the Divine]], many of whom staged a walk-out on a pre-arranged signal- [[WKCR]] played "The Times They Are A'Changin"- and held a counter-commencement in [[Morningside Park]].
 
  
 
== External links ==
 
== External links ==

Revision as of 10:14, 17 April 2007

University Commencement

The bitter end, the big sleep, it all ends in tears... Commencement is catch-all term for various ceremonies at which degrees are conferred, names are read, and proud parents get to take pictures. Also known as graduation.

Commencement Week consists of a series of events:

While the schools and degree programs hold their own recogniztion ceremonies throughout the week, University Commencement is the official day of graduation for all Columbia students, as it's when degrees are officially conferred (even if you get the actual diplomas on a different day of the week).

The first commencement exercises were held in 1758, which would make the 2007 Commencement the 250th. However the University likes to "count" the exercises that weren't held from 1755-1757 (no one graduated until 4 years after the school opened, duh.) Nor do they count the fact that no one graduated between 1778, when King's College closed as a result of the Revolutionary War and 1787, when DeWitt Clinton became Columbia College's first graduate (and transfer student). So we're up to 253 for some reason.


External links

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