Should the university have cancelled graduation so prematurely?

In the recent weeks, it has been said by the university that the classes of 2020 and 2021 will not receive an in-person graduation, but rather an online ceremony instead. And while I am sure all students understand the reasoning behind this decision, many of us feel that the university made this decision prematurely and before the Government’s lockdown exit roadmap was released.

As students, we were never asking for a graduation if it meant that people’s health was going to be in danger. All we were asking for is that the university postpone graduation so that we are able to receive the graduation that we have spent three years working towards - and given the recent developments and comments made by the government today, we believe, and strongly urge, that the university should reconsider their decision.

The Government released today that, should the vaccination programme and other factors go as they plan and hope, all legal restrictions placed on the public can be lifted as early as the 21st June - and while this is only a guide, it is certainly hopeful and the vaccination programme is proving to be a huge success so far.

If this is the case then the university would have prematurely cancelled graduation - a ceremony that is, I’m sure not a shock to anybody, so incredibly special and for most students a once in a life time opportunity. We understand that a lot of time, effort and money goes into planning and executing these graduation ceremonies but the vague reasons they have given students about why they will not even consider a postponement is also not good enough.

It is for the above reasons that I urge, and sincerely hope, that the university will reconsider their decision on graduation because it was a premature decision and one that was made before the Government released their lockdown exit roadmap. 

If you agree with the comments I have made, I please urge you to back this petition! We, the classes of 2020 and 2021 have worked so hard for the last three years and we deserve more than this.