It has been a little over a year since the COVID-19 pandemic began causing schools to shut down and graduation ceremonies to quicky come to a halt.

  Students that were on track to graduate in the spring or summer of 2020 were unable to walk across the stage but with the vaccine readily available and the slowing of the spread of the virus there is hope in sight.

  According to an email sent out to all students by Jennifer Self, CSU Bakersfield’s Public Information Officer, the President’s Cabinet has come to a decision on if the spring graduation ceremony will take place face to face.

  According to the President’s Cabinet, “It is with joy that we announce some truly wonderful news: This spring, CSUB will host a series of face-to-face commencement ceremonies from Thursday, May 20, through Sunday, May 23, for the classes of Spring 2020, Summer 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021 and Summer 2021.”

  Although graduation may look a little bit different this year, it came as a relief to many students that they would have the choice to participate in the graduation ceremony.

  According to the commencement page on CSUB’s website, “The first set of ceremonies will be for the Class of 2021 between the dates of Thursday, May 20 – Saturday, May 22.”

  According to CSUB’s website the class of 2020 will also have a chance to walk across the stage, “The second set of ceremonies will be for the Class of 2020 between the dates of Saturday, May 22 – Sunday, May 23.”

  A poll was posted on The Runner’s Instagram asking if graduating students were going to participate in the ceremony in May. Of the 38 graduating students who responded, 63% said they would be attending and 37% said they would not be attending.

  A response box was also posted on Instagram asking graduating students what they were looking forward to after graduation.

  According to Luz Robles, a senior majoring in psychology, she’s looking forward to “not worrying about exams or studying and a raise at work.”

  Although graduation may look different this year, this is a step towards returning to some sort of normality.

  Anyone participating in the face-to-face graduation ceremony will receive three tickets for guests to attend. Masks are mandatory for both guests and graduates and other safety precautions will be put in place.

  The deadline to RSVP is Friday, April 30. Visit csub.edu/commencement.