Commencement Fact Sheet
May 18, 2008
TO DO - Prior to Commencement
1. Pick up Cap, Gown, Hoods, Honor Cords
Pick up your cap and gown at the ECSU Bookstore (located in the Student Center). Payment of $37.98 may be made by cash, credit card, CAT card, Barnes & Noble gift card or check payable to “ECSU Bookstore”. You must wear your cap and gown if you intend to participate at Commencement. If you are receiving honors, honor cords may be purchased at the Bookstore. Hoods will be provided by the Graduate school.
2. Pay Class Dues
The fee for class dues is $25.00. Checks or money orders should be made payable to “ECSU” and delivered to the Student Activities Office in the Student Center.
3. Invite Guests
Graduates receive six invitations, but only two (2) Commencement Tickets. As long as the weather cooperates, Commencement will take place outdoors, and family and friends are welcome to attend. In case of inclement very severe weather, the ceremony will be held in the Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium. The capacity of the gymnasium is such that we must limit the number of guests to two (2) ticket-holders per graduate. NO ONE WILL BE ADMITTED INTO THE SPORTS CENTER WITHOUT A TICKET.
PLEASE ADVISE YOUR GUESTS TO PREPARE FOR THE WEATHER.
SUNSCREEN, SUNGLASSES, RAINCOAT, HATS AND UMBRELLAS MAY BE NEEDED!
TO DO - Commencement Day
1. Check the Weather
Call the Weather Hotline at 860-465-4444, or 1-800-578-1449 anytime between Friday, May 16, and Sunday, May 18, for up-to-the-minute information regarding any changes in the Commencement schedule. Local radio stations will also be provided with any schedule-change information. There is also a Commencement hotline available at 465-5319.
2. Dress for the Day
The wearing of the cap, gown and hood by students and faculty is a tradition that dates back to the universities of the Middle Ages. The academic cap, the mortarboard, should be worn flat on the head. The tassel is worn on the FRONT RIGHT until after the degree is conferred during the ceremony; then it is moved to the left side.
Appropriate attire under the gown would be slacks, shirt and tie, and dress shoes for men; dressy clothes and dark shoes for women.
3. Baccalaureate Service
The Baccalaureate Service will be held in the Betty Tipton Room, Student Center at 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 17, 2008. No tickets are required. You and your family and guests are invited to attend the Baccalaureate, which is an interfaith service including music, readings, and an address by a faculty member selected for the honor by graduating students. Undergraduates should wear the cap and gown for the Baccalaureate Service and find seats with their families and guests. The Baccalaureate Service is traditional, inspiring, and relatively brief. Admission is open as long as seating remains. The service begins at 4 p.m. sharp.
5. Name Cards, Phonetic Name Spelling/Pronunciation
Anytime after 7:30 a.m. on Commencement Day, you must pick up your name card at the Registrar’s Office located in Wood Support Services Center. As you walk toward the Commencement platform, you will give this card to the Reader. The Reader will announce your name from this card.
If you are concerned about the pronunciation of your name at Commencement, please inform the Commencement Staff at the Student Information Desk when you pick up your name card.
6. Students line up
At 9 a.m. students line up in their designated areas (diagrams will be provided at the rehearsal Thursday, May 8, 2008).
7. Processional
At 9:45 a.m. student procession begins. Students will walk by the fountain and continue to the field.
If the ceremony is forced indoors due to inclement weather, Continuing Education, Professional Studies, and Arts and Sciences candidates will not formally march into the gymnasium, but will instead go directly to their seats. Candidates will sit according to degree, as indicated in the maps provided at rehearsal. Candidates should be seated by 11 a.m. Signs will be posted at seating sections, and marshals will be available to assist you. YOUR CAP AND GOWN WILL SERVE AS YOUR TICKET. NO ONE WILL BE ALLOWED INTO THE SPORTS CENTER WITHOUT A CAP AND GOWN OR TICKET.
All graduates and guests are expected to remain until the conclusion of the Commencement Ceremonies.
8. Closed Circuit Television Viewing
In the event of inclement weather, the Commencement Ceremony will be held in the Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium. The capacity of the gymnasium is such that we must limit the number of guests to two (2) ticket-holders per graduate. NO ONE WILL BE ADMITTED INTO THE SPORTS CENTER WITHOUT A TICKET. In case the exercises take place indoors and you have more than two persons attending, please note that there will be additional seating available in the Student Center (Betty Tipton Room, Theater, Lobby and Café), Charles R. Webb Hall 110 and 14 additional classrooms, in Goddard Hall Room 100, Johnson Room in the J. Eugene Smith Library, and Shafer Auditorium where the graduation may be viewed on a large screen.
If the weather cooperates and Commencement is held outside, the event will still be broadcast in the Student Center (Betty Tipton Room, Theater, Lobby and Café), Charles R. Webb Hall 110 and 14 additional classrooms, in Goddard Hall Room 100, Johnson Room in the J. Eugene Smith Library, and Shafer Auditorium so that elderly, handicapped or heat-sensitive guests could all view the graduation.
“Alma Mater” Music: 16th century folk tune, Westphalia, Prussia; Words by Jennie E. Dennehy
New England’s hills are fair and green,
Alma Mater, Mother dear,
With oak and laurel’s tangled screen,
Alma Mater, Mother dear,
We’ve spent the happy days among, these beauties which the bards have sung,
While to thy guiding hand we’ve clung,
Alma Mater, Mother dear.
Thy gentle voice has soothed us oft,
Alma Mater, Mother dear,
On aching brows thy touch was soft,
Alma Mater, Mother dear;
Yet firm and fearless, straight and true, you taught us still the right to do,
Oh, all our best we owe to you,
Alma Mater, Mother dear.