Syracuse University officially announced Thursday that it will hold Commencement 2020 on the Quad. Commencement is typically held in the Dome, but the stadium will close for renovations March 1.

Students and their families have been quick to criticize the university’s decision, and many say the university has kept them in the dark about its plans for months.

The Daily Orange Editorial Board recognizes the university’s efforts to coordinate a suitable commencement location, but SU officials must be more transparent in communicating the event’s details. They must respond more fairly to the questions and concerns students and families have raised.

Originally, university Vice President and Chief Facilities Officer Pete Sala announced that the construction of the Carrier Dome’s new steel roof would commence in May 2020. In April, the timeline was shifted to include all Syracuse Athletics vacating the Dome by March 1, 2020.

Since that announcement, concerned students, parents and relatives received no official information about the ceremony until Wednesday when Chancellor Kent Syverud implied it would be held on the Quad.

Provost Michele Wheatly and Dolan Evanovich, senior vice president for enrollment and the student experience, made the official announcement in a campus-wide email the next day in which they called the Quad commencement a “milestone one-of-a-kind ceremony.”

A milestone is a marker of achievement — the culmination of years of hard work and persistence that pays respect to the time, money and commitment of students and their support systems, not an ambiguous plan B.

Prospective graduates do indeed deserve a milestone commencement ceremony, but more importantly, they deserve the fundamental respect of a straight answer from the institution they have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to attend.

Syracuse has stated that further details regarding the ceremony will become available starting Oct. 1. The logistics of the ceremony have allegedly been “meticulously staged” by a so-far unnamed group that recommended the Quad as an alternative Commencement site. The people that need that information the most, however, do not have it.

Syracuse officials need to release detailed explanations of the university’s plans for seating thousands of visitors on the Quad, and they need to provide specific answers to questions the community has asked about accessibility. They need to release weather contingency plans. And they need to do so immediately.

Many SU families do not have the luxury of being able to afford expensive flights and hotel rooms booked last minute. Relatives and friends who deserve to see loved ones graduate are being held in a months-long limbo while SU drip-feeds its stakeholders cryptic information.

SU officials need to acknowledge that their poor communication has significantly inconvenienced and deeply upset members of the campus community. Rather than spend time pitching the Quad commencement as a one-of-a-kind ceremony where “the energy will be more palpable than ever,” SU should be more apologetic about its shortcomings.

SU officials must expedite their plans to release additional information about Commencement. They must share critical information about accommodations and contingencies with enough time for families to prepare logistically and financially. And they must be candid about the answers they do not yet have.

The Daily Orange Editorial Board asks that SU do better for the Class of 2020 — that its leaders publicly and sincerely recognize the difficult realities Dome renovations have created, and that they communicate with prospective graduates and their families respectfully in the future.

The Daily Orange Editorial Board serves as the voice of the organization and aims to contribute the perspectives of students to discussions that concern Syracuse University and the greater Syracuse community. The editorial board’s stances are determined by a majority of its members. You can read more about the editorial board here. Are you interested in pitching a topic for the editorial board to discuss? Email opinion@dailyorange.com.

Published on September 23, 2019 at 12:50 am

Contact: opinion@dailyorange.com