Monday, April 14, 2014

Page 1

Monday, April 14, 2014

WHERE

Vol. 124, Issue 54 Rotunda Reconstruction

Wood construction fence Plexiglass viewing windows

WILL YOU

Pavil ion I

Pedestrian pathway

GRADUATE? OPTION 1

Final Exercises would remain on the Lawn, but the length of the ceremony is expected to double and guest tickets will be limited to two per student

Vinyl coated wire fence

OPTION 2

OPTION 3 Graduates walk the Lawn before proceeding to Scott Stadium, where guest tickets are unlimited

The College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences would graduate Saturday and all other schools Sunday

Rotunda renovations affect Class of 2015 Final Exercises, potentially 2016, future graduations impacted by student body increases Kaelyn Quinn

Construction fencing will completely surround the Rotunda on all sides beginning May 19, blocking almost all access to the Lawn from the north side. “I don’t think people really understand how extensive that fence is going to be,” Director of Major Events Pamela Higgins said. The fence will block off the walkway between Pavilion I and the Rotunda and extend westward, blocking the area between the Rotunda and Brooks Hall. The renovations will make the traditional procession down the Lawn infeasible and will place a roadblock in the middle of the Final Exercises ceremony starting with the Class of 2015. With the Rotunda out of commission, “our problem is how we get the students onto the other side of the

Lawn,” Higgins said. Pat Lampkin, vice president and chief student affairs officer, said the renovation is a once-in-a-lifetime event that unfortunately coincides with the Class of 2015 graduation. In addition, Lampkin said the increasing number of graduates also poses a problem. “Our numbers are going up, and it will be a problem,” Lampkin said. “In 1991, about 12,000 people were on the Lawn for graduation. We are now closing in on 27,000 to 30,00 people in that short period of time." The growing number of graduates, combined with the compressed size of the already-overcrowded Lawn, brought the situation to what Lampkin called “a tipping point.” Short-term problem The second phase of the renovations necessitates changes to the Final Exercises for the Class of 2015, and possibly the Class of 2016, Higgins said. The administration has proposed

three options for next year’s graduation ceremony: stay on the Lawn and limit the number of guest tickets to two per graduate, hold two Final Exercises ceremonies on the Lawn, or walk the Lawn en route to Scott Stadium, the site of Final Exercises. The three options are the only ones being considered, Higgins said. These options are the ones which “the [graduation advisory] committee and the University feel are feasible,” she said. The three options were detailed in document related to the “A Final Exercises Survey” sent out by University President Teresa Sullivan on April 11 to the classes of 2015, 2016 and 2017, and their parents. The Graduation Advisory Committee, comprised of both undergraduate and graduate students and co-chaired by Higgins and Dean of Students Allen Groves, compiled the survey. The survey will open April 16 and close April 22. Before they respond, Higgins said students should “con-

sider all of the options and discuss them with their families.” Option One The first option retains the traditional Final Exercises framework, with all schools graduating on the Lawn together on the same day, and limits the number of guests tickets to two per graduate, with no standing room only area, according to the survey. This proposal will take more than double the amount of time, with the ceremony lasting an estimated three and a half hours or longer, Higgins said. The extended duration is because of “the very narrow opening” of the alleyways onto the Lawn, she said. Students of the College, Engineering, Nursing, and Medical Schools all originally processed from the north side of the Rotunda onto the Lawn. These students must now enter onto the Lawn through the alleyways, along with students from all the other schools who have always processed through the alleys.

Where students could once walk 8 to 15 abreast down the steps on the south side of the Rotunda, only 2-3 can walk abreast through the alleys, slowing the procession significantly, Higgins said. The standing room area would also be eliminated in this option. “Only guests with tickets will be able to be on the Lawn if we keep everything the same,” Higgins said. As all students will now be entering through the alleyways, the former standing room on the Lawn becomes part of the procession, Higgins said. “From a safety perspective as well, we cannot have standing room only area,” Higgins said. "As the Rotunda steps and the portal between Pavilion II and the Rotunda will be closed off, there will be too few exits to accommodate a standing room only area in the case of an emergency. You don’t

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Associate Editor

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see GRADUATION, page 2

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Monday, April 14, 2014 by The Cavalier Daily - Issuu