News Editor
Undergraduate commencement will take place on May 18 at 8 a.m. on the Main Soccer Field with overflow seating available in the Icardo Center. Commencement will be immediately followed with a reception for the graduates and their guests.
Because students can bring an unlimited number of guests, CSU Bakersfield is expecting an overflow. But since students want to ensure their family members will be able to see them graduate live and not have to watch them through a livestream in the Icardo Center, each graduating student receives seven priority tickets. However, their seven guests with priority tickets must arrive before 7:15 a.m. when the doors will open for everyone, regardless of whether they have a priority ticket or not.
Some graduating students have already begun selling their extra graduation tickets to other graduating students on buy sell trade groups for CSUB on social media sites such as Facebook.
However, the CSUB graduation website states, “After the registration deadline on April 29, 2018, an email will be sent to registered students for additional tickets if tickets become available.”
Graduating student check in will open at 5:30 am. on the softball practice field. They are required to be there no later than 7:30 a.m. to get their name reader card.
The graduate hooding and commencement ceremony will be on May 17 at 6 p.m. in the Icardo Center.
They too can bring an unlimited amount of guests but there will be no priority tickets required. Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Jenny Zorn said previously there was never an issue with overflow for the graduate student commencement, so they did not need priority tickets.
Students graduating is the Graduate Hooding and Commencement Ceremony are required to be in the Old Gym to receive their reader card the Old Gym will be open for graduating students by 4 pm, graduate students are asked to be there before 5:30 pm.
During the September 29 Associated Students Inc. meeting of last year ASI members gave positive feedback about the jumbotrons that were put in last year’s commencement.
Faust Gorham associate vice president for information technology services said that the jumbotrons will also be put in again in this ceremony. Additionally, there will be a livestream of commencement, so students who have family members that live far away and cannot make it to commencement can still watch them graduate through the live stream.
Faust stated via email that preparation for graduation begins very early.
“We begin planning meetings in late fall and have much more detailed planning meetings March through May,” stated Faust.
Faust also mentioned other things IT department facilitates for commencement.
“We provide networking on the field for equipment, Marching Order is used to display names on the jumbotrons, we have the social media wall,” stated Faust.
There are several other honors and recognition ceremonies that take place, but they are by invitation only.
There are three other cultural graduation ceremonies, the Black Graduates Recognition ceremony, Chicano commencement, and the Lavender Recognition ceremony, for LGBTQ+ graduating students. Students must register themselves and pay a fee for the cultural graduation ceremonies.
The Black Graduate Recognition Ceremony will take place on May 12 at 3 p.m. in the Icardo Center.
Chicano Commencement will be on May 13 at 9 a.m. in the Icardo Center.
The Lavender Recognition Ceremony will be May 11 at 3 p.m. in the Dore Theatre.
