Graduating Aggies react to cancelled commencement

By Taylor Cripe

Students upset over the cancellation of Utah State University’s 133rd commencement ceremony have little recourse to change the school's decision.

“Unfortunately, this is a done deal at this point,” USU public information officer Emilie Wheeler said. “No school in Utah will be having a graduation ceremony this spring.”

When the announcement came that all classes would be moving online, Utah State President Noelle Cockett sent out a letter to students and faculty stating that a decision about graduation would be made by April. Within days, however, the hammer had fallen: On Wednesday, the school announced there would be no Pomp and Circumstance this year at any of the school’s statewide campuses – at least not live and in-person.

To that point, many students were still hoping for an end-of-the-school-year ceremony.  

“When the university first decided to go online, I thought commencement would still happen,” said senior Ethan Maul, who is set to graduate in April with a degree in electrical engineering. “As the week went on, it started to seem less likely, but I was surprised the decision was made so soon.”

To Maul, “it seemed like a quick and slightly irrational response.”

Others saw the writing on the wall.

“As more developments concerning the nation’s status were received, the postponing of graduation was something I began to anticipate,” said Tarren Jessop, who will be graduating with degrees in psychology and sociology. “I would be happy to wait for however long it may take to get the full experience though, and I know many other seniors feel the same way.”

Utah State officials are trying to figure out a way to honor graduates without a live ceremony.

“We will definitely be having some sort of celebration,” Wheeler said. “We are not going to let our seniors go without something to commemorate their time here.”

Wheeler said it is still not certain what an end-of-year celebration would look like. She said it may be different departments having a ceremony, or there may be some sort of reception for all seniors.

“The big question for us is when we will be able to do it,” Wheeler said. “We don’t want to plan something too soon and then have to cancel.”

For many seniors, walking at graduation is an important milestone.

“It means everything to me,” Jessop said. “As a first-generation student, this would be the first college graduation ceremony my family attends. It’s something I have dreamed of my entire life.”

Maul said it’s not as big a deal for him, but he was still looking forward to it. 

“Not having the ceremony means I don’t have a defining moment where I feel I am done with my undergraduate degree,” Maul said. “It’s very anticlimactic.”

Wheeler said the university has received quite a bit of feedback about graduation being canceled and said USU “shares in the sadness and the anger.”

“Most have been understanding,” Wheeler said. “We also want everyone to know we didn’t do this immediately because we didn’t want to make rash decisions and wanted to align with other institutions.”