UC Berkeley details plans for in-person graduation for class of 2020
With public health regulations continuing to loosen as the state prepares to reopen, UC Berkeley’s class of 2020 may have the opportunity for an in-person graduation ceremony.
Graduates will be able to choose from a few options for the ceremony and provide input in a survey until June 11, according to an email from Chancellor Carol Christ sent Thursday to the class of 2020.
The survey includes three tentative options, public health guidelines permitting: a procession held Aug. 29, a celebration scheduled for Oct. 3 and a combined ceremony and procession held either April 2 or May 14 in 2022.
“Many of you expressed sadness that the Class of 2021 had the opportunity to process in person and thought we had forgotten you,” the email reads. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”
During the proposed procession in the first option, students will be able to walk across the stage and receive symbolic diplomas. In the second option, students will take part in a celebration on campus with “no formal or traditional commencement elements,” according to the email.
For the final option, which can be held on one of the two proposed dates, students will participate in a ceremony with speeches, entertainment and the conferring of degrees along with a traditional procession.
In addition, the survey asks students which features of a graduation ceremony, such as playing music, hearing photos and crossing the stage, are most important to them.
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Aditya Katewa is the executive news editor. Contact him at akatewa@dailycal.org, and follow him on Twitter at @adkatewa1.