Online events are the new normal but don’t you wish we could go back to how things were? Utah State University Seniors will have the chance to celebrate their graduation in person this year but some changes will be made.
In the past, USU students would march to the spectrum with their friends on graduation day.
However, last year COVID-19 left the class of 2020 without a commencement. For some seniors, like Damon Yardley, it did even feel like they graduated.
“I watched universities across the country start to shut down, then I just assumed that they would still figure out something with the graduation. Honestly, I didn't even really realize I was actually officially graduated until I had my diplomas in hand that had been mailed to me,” Yardley said.
USU President Noelle Cockett Outlines the University’s plan for the 2021 graduation ceremony in an email she sent out last week. Students will have the opportunity to get their diploma in person in one of the many smaller ceremonies that will be held- but their friends and families have to watch a livestream in another location.
One senior that was not thrilled the announcement is Quintin Bybee.
“I've always looked forward to taking photos with all my friends graduating that year. And going out and doing the walk from the spectrum back to the, ‘A' [Block], what we did as a freshman and recreating that whole thing and being with my parents," said Bybee.
While some seniors are disappointed with the news, others, like Easton Heaton, say they are happy to get some kind of celebration.
“That degree and the ceremony is something you definitely look forward to when you come to college," said Heaton. "It definitely sucks that you're not going to get that but I understand why.”
