University Commencement
University Commencement is the end of the line. More than 10,000 degree candidates and more than 40,000 guests cram into Low Plaza and South Lawn and beyond.
Contents
The Ceremony
At 9:30am, the St. Paul's Chapel bell rings and marks the beginning of the the Degree Candidates Procession. The soon-to-be graduates, who assemble beforehand on the upper campus descend down onto Low Plaza and take their seats.
At 10:30am, the Academic Procession begins, with faculty, trustees, and administrators proceeding from Low Library to their seating on The Steps. This marks the official beginning of Commencment.
President's Address
Whereas many schools invite a major public figure to deliver the keynote address at commencement, at Columbia that privilege has always been held by the University President. So you're gonna have to listen to Bollinger. Luckily he's (usually) a better speaker than e-mail writer.
This quirk is the reason for the annual complaints from Columbia undergraduates, whose Class Day speakers tend to be slightly lower profile, since a ceremony for 1,000 students doesn't have quite the pull as Commencement does. Students who expect the Class Day speaker to be high profile to make up for commencement are usually disappointed, though there have been some fine speakers in the past.
Conferral of Honorary Degrees
The honorary degree recipients are usualy big names and sometimes deliver brief speeches.
Conferral of Degrees
Following speeches by Bollinger and honorary degree recipients, each of the schools' deans (in the order of importance of degree, i.e. BAs first, then masters and then doctorates, then by the order of the schools' foundation) approaches the podium and asks President Bollinger (in an obsequious and typically witty fashion, e.g. "I beg you, sir") to accept them and confer upon them the degree. Bollinger then accepts them and confers upon them their degrees.
Graduating members from each school typically wave (or throw) items representing their discipline during their presentation- apple cores for Columbia College, shredded newspapers for the J-School, a giant toothbrush for Dentistry, etc.
Distribution of Diplomas
After the ceremony ends, student a capella groups sing "Stand, Columbia". This is followed by a rendition of Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York," and assorted sappy songs typically associated with graduation. After "Stand, Columbia," in any case, students make their way down from Low Plaza to meet their families and guests and proceed to a pre-designated location at which they can pick up the diploma for their respective school. For CC, this is usually the upper levels of Lerner Hall.
Memorable Commencements
1811
In 1811, commencement was broken up by a student protest. Shocking.
1968
In 1968, the university president did not deliver the address, thanks to the fallout from the protests. Instead history professor Richard Hofstadter delivered the address to the students gathered in St. John the Divine, many of whom staged a walk-out on a pre-arranged signal- WKCR played "The Times They Are A'Changin"- and held a counter-commencement in Morningside Park.
