Graduation seating not as limited as thought

by Benjamin Lunn assistant news editor

Graduation. Few words spoke o campus have inspired s h heat debate.

Ho ever, from the pers ective of this ear's senior clas the de-

They ory, but some m a hollow victory w seating. But some t that hollow?

As any s you, graduation will Id outside behind the ansion.

Also,liy senior ca~ell you, each gra ate has been •ted to three ti ets for friends an family~~e b:r:~striction could undo tedly tum this day of joy into a ay of sadness for the many rel-

\ Q.,(>.., atives who can not attend. V \J[~knownst to many, howev- er, the three seats are not the endall and be-all of those that can attend.

Dr. Robert Bonfiglio, vice president for student development, as well as Senior Class President Colleen Murphy, feels that the students are overreacting.

Although the seating has been restricted to three seats, the campus is an open one, and people cannot be prevented from walking on.

Any one of the local residents walking their dog is evidence to this.

"If [relatives] cared to bring a lawn chair, they could," Bonfiglio said. "Frankly, I don't know how they'd see, but we couldn't stop them from coming."

Murphy was never worried about the three tickets, and stresses that those tickets are not the only people that can attend. They are just the people guaranteed a seat in front.

For those still worried, Murphy wants to remind the senior class simple multiplication and division.

There is a specified area in which people can sit, and each chair takes a certain amount of space.

Therefore, the number of rows and columns was multiplied, and the number of total seats available came out to around 1,500. Then came the division.

"There are about 500 graduates, hence three tickets per graduate," Bonfiglio said.

Dr. Robert Bonfiglio, vice president for student development that the Baccalaureate Mass is unlimited.

The number of tickets allotted each graduate was achieved by

Bonfiglio said that there are other areas for seats to be placed, but vision or hearing would be impaired by trees and other obstructions.

"In my opinion, they are not likely to see or hear commencement," Bonfiglio said.

Parking on campus is a problem for students already, but with relatives and the cars they will bring, what will happen at the ceremo- ny?

The administration is encouraging everyone to carpool and park at the Valley Forge Military Academy.

He concedes that if they do decide to park here anyway, the college will just have to deal with it. Sometimes, a step back must be taken and the question "Why?" must be asked.

Graduation had been held outside for dozens of previous classes, so why is the location of graduation suddenly an issue?

In response, Bonfiglio said, "There never was a Dixon Center until April. There never was another viable option before."

For the future classes, a final decision will have to be made. At some point, the graduating class will not fit behind the mansion. When that happens, this decision will have to be made.