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Serving the UMN community since 1900

The Minnesota Daily

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Winter graduates upset with commencement scheduling conflict

Graduation and “The Nutcracker” were double booked at Northrop Auditorium

The moving trucks are reserved and her plane is set to take off shortly after graduation, but Kara Kruger almost had to change her plans.

Kruger is one of the 800 College of Liberal Arts students set to graduate this December who are now looking at two commencement ceremony options. The original date for commencement, Dec. 8, was double-booked at Northrop Auditorium with a performance of “The Nutcracker” ballet.

CLA created a second ceremony at Northrop Auditorium on Dec. 15 for students. Graduating students who must still keep the Dec. 8 ceremony date can participate by reservation at a Willey Hall ceremony.

“It has certainly made graduating feel less rewarding,” Kruger said. The 28-year-old mother of two said the confusion with the double-booking is frustrating.

“It’s really put a sour feel on the commencement ceremony,” Kruger said. “It would be nice if they could accommodate everyone on the eighth.”

The Dec. 8 ceremony will be held in the large auditorium of Willey Hall, which can only hold 1,000 people.

Steven Rosenstone, CLA dean, said the college is asking everyone with out-of-town guests or unchangeable reservations to participate in the Dec. 8 ceremony.

“We don’t want students and families to be inconvenienced,” Rosenstone said. “We want this to be a wonderful and memorable event for everyone.”

He said the college is taking responsibility for the scheduling misunderstanding.

Allison McCarty, a sociology major graduating in December, said she was angry when she found out about the rescheduling.

“I felt that we were dropped for something else for the University to make money,” McCarty said. “I felt abandoned.”

She said she is disappointed everyone will not be graduating together.

“But it is nice to know that they are willing to try to accommodate people and that they’re going to try to do something,” McCarty said.

Rosenstone said two separate receptions will follow the ceremonies, similar to spring graduation activities.


Courtney Lewis welcomes comments at [email protected]
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