Aisha Hawi is a first generation college student. To attend the ceremony and have her family see her receive her diploma is really important to Hawi’s family, but they don’t know when the ceremony will be. No one does.
“I think that’s really momentous for me and the fact that it’s not clear when it’s gonna happen it’s just breaking my heart,” she said.
The last day of the spring semester is 15 days away and graduating seniors are left hanging as the commencement ceremony date still has not been confirmed. Last Thursday, Hunter Commencement sent out an email to all graduating students saying that “Madison Square Garden has confirmed that our Commencement will be on a weekday during the first two weeks of June and that they will have a confirmed date for us soon.” But this is too vague for most students and their families.
Senior Hannah Joseph has been checking Hunter College’s website a lot looking for any updates.
“I’m just checking to see when the day is and to not get a response kind of seems like, do they not care?” asked Joseph. “They announced it to be in early June, but that’s still not a date.”
Students have been scrambling for any information posting questions on Reddit and Facebook asking their peers if they know anything. In the Hunter College Students unofficial Facebook group, students are furious that they weren’t told sooner because now some might not be able to take the time off from their jobs to attend.
Other CUNY’s have announced their dates, as have most universities in New York. Hunter students and staff have been speculating that it’s because of the New York Rangers games schedule at Madison Square Garden and in Hunter’s email it was confirmed. “Our confirmed date is based on the performance of the New York Rangers in the current Stanley Cup Playoffs and when their games will be scheduled.”
When asked about the delay, Hunter College’s Communications department referred to the information posted on the commencement website.
The lack of communication and details is worrying a lot of students if it will even happen. Hunter College has not had an in person commencement ceremony since January 23, 2020. An in-person ceremony was planned for this past winter, but was canceled due to the omicron variant.
Hawi says she will attend no matter what, but the lack of transparency from the school has impacted her post-grad plans immensely.
“I’m currently applying to a full time job and they said that I have the position, but the fact that I’m not able to start until I graduate, that’s delaying the process of me starting the job,” said Hawi.
