Issue date: 11/10/04 Section: News

University Trustee members will vote Nov. 10 to drastically change the program that shapes commencement day.

If all goes as proposed, undergraduates and graduate students will no longer receive their degrees during the same ceremony.

For the past two years Suffolk has held the ceremony at the harbor-side Fleet Boston Pavilion. The space holds just under 5,000 people, according to the venue's website.

"The afternoon ceremony will be for undergraduates only," President David J. Sargent said at a Board of Trustees' Student Affairs committee meeting on Oct. 27. "We have just run out of space."

Traditionally, commencement has included both graduate and undergraduate students, but this year, because of the unexpected amount of students planning to walk on graduation day, the change will likely be implemented.

This proposed change would make more tickets available to the families and friends of undergraduates.

As for graduate students, they will be "hooded" in a separate ceremony on Saturday, May 21, the day before graduation.

As officials change the way commencement will work, they continue on the traditional course of finding a student and invited speaker for the ceremony.

Student Government Association President Becky Harlow strongly encouraged students to apply for the student speaker position, as there are no applicants to date.

"The more student involvement, the better," Harlow said.

Associate Dean Elliot Gabriel is responsible for putting together the committee that will ultimately determine who is given the honor of speaking.

The committee will consist of five students, as well as a faculty member and administrator from each school.

Gabriel said that he does not usually receive more than 14 to 15 applicants and that most often, when students apply they are invited back for an interview with the committee.

University officials typically wait until April to announce who the invited commencement speaker will be.

Last year's guest was Governor Mitt Romney, but there are no indications as to who will be invited this spring.

The applications for student speaker are available now and notices of consideration are sent out in January.

After that, students are expected to prepare a draft speech to present in front of the committee on a reading day scheduled in April.

Plans are set for commencement to take place as usual at Fleet Boston Pavilion on Sunday, May 22.

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