UNC-Chapel Hill 2020 grads gripe: We want commencement, not a reunion
After hearing the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was planning a limited, but in-person, commencement for the Class of 2021, some members of the Class of 2020 say they feel neglected and forgotten.
Colleges nationwide canceled their graduation ceremonies last spring because of the coronavirus pandemic, but UNC-Chapel Hill graduates said they had been clinging to the idea of a belated ceremony in Kenan Stadium this year to help provide closure to what was a dreary end to their college experience.
Instead, Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz announced Thursday, the school will plan a "reunion event" for them the weekend of Oct 9.
"We have not forgotten you, and we want to ensure that we recognize your achievements here in Chapel Hill," Guskiewicz said in an email to the Class of 2020. "This will be an opportunity for you to reunite with faculty and classmates and partake in some of the traditions that you missed out on in the final weeks of the 2020 spring semester."
The idea doesn't sit well with a number of graduates and their parents.
"There’s a lack of acknowledgment of the accomplishments," 2020 graduate Mitchell Kissack said Friday. "We muscled through. We were the beginning guinea pigs for the pandemic and virtual learning and learning how to adapt on the fly, and I feel like we all did that pretty well. And to have that brushed aside as if we don’t really matter, it’s unfortunate."
"It felt like people were really giving up on the Class of 2020, like the school had just gotten what they needed from us and they had another class to worry about," 2020 graduate Rebecca Daughtry said. "It really hurt to know that we were just being kind of like thrown away."
Daughtry said she felt especially bad for her mother, who never got to see her walk across the stage to receive her diploma.
"I’m a first-generation college student, and she has worked very, very, very hard to get me to where I was, where I am today," she said. "She was always excited for that moment, to see someone in her family graduate with a bachelor's degree. So, I know that really hurt her a lot."
Patty Harward, whose daughter graduated last year, was likewise disappointed.
"They worked hard for those four years to walk across that stage," Harward said. "I do think these students deserve to walk across that stage after how hard they worked to get that degree."
Guskiewicz's email said the reunion plan was based on a recommendation from 2020 class leaders, but they might be the only ones in favor of it. An online petition already has nearly 2,000 signatures calling for a graduation ceremony for the Class of 2020.
"Hopefully, the pressure will get to them," Kissack said, adding that he's upset he and others are now be solicited for alumni contributions as well. "You want us to donate money to school that won't even give us an actual commencement?"
Guskiewicz sent a second email to students Friday evening promising "a reunion and commencement weekend" in October that also will include a football game against Florida State and a Sunday morning ceremony in Kenan Stadium.
"This celebration weekend will be memorable and fitting of your special status and the sacrifices you made during your senior year…and beyond," he said.
UNC-Chapel Hill plans to hold a series of smaller graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2021 in Kenan Stadium the weekend of May 14-16. Tickets will be required, and students must register their interest in attending one of them by March 18. Only two guests will be allowed for each graduate.
All ceremonies also will be available via livestream for those who prefer to attend virtually.
Coronavirus experts Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, a UNC-Chapel Hill alumna who has been involved in vaccine research, are scheduled to speak virtually at the ceremonies.
