Dear Class of 2015,
I agree it’s pretty frustrating that we won’t be able to have our graduation in Notre Dame Stadium for the sake of “progress.” I was at graduation last year, and there’s something majestic and awe-inspiring about the stadium. It would be unbelievable to be able to celebrate the greatest accomplishment of our lives there, but we need to face the facts. It’s not going to happen. No matter how much we complain or protest or petition, Campus Crossroads is happening.
To tell the truth, I don’t think it really matters where we have our graduation. Sure, not all of my loved ones will be able to be at the ceremony, but they’re still going be here supporting me as they have for the past four years. Yeah, the Joyce Center doesn’t have the same history or emotional charge around it as the Stadium, but you know what does? The Grotto. The residence hall you’ve called home for the last four years. The Golden Dome. Those are the places I’m going to remember the most from my time here, not the physical building I graduated in.
Ultimately though, I think we’re sort of missing the point of graduation. It’s not about where we graduate. It’s about where we are graduating from. It’s about celebrating all of our accomplishments over the last four years. It’s about being surrounded by the ones we love and thanking them for all the support they’ve given us during this journey. It’s about laughing and crying with our best friends one last time as undergraduates and for the first time as graduates.
So, instead of wasting our time and energy on something that isn’t going to change, let’s focus on something we can change, such as making the most of what time we have left here or getting an awesome commencement speaker. #StephenColbertforCommencement
Chris Clarke
senior
O'Neill Hall
Oct. 12
