Because of the weather, the Commencement Ceremony was
held in an outdoor tent. Each graduate (1369 of them!) was allowed two tickets (I
believe they said the capacity in the tent was 7,000 people), and their
other guests were welcomed to watch a live feed from inside the
library, or live stream it on the internet. As you may know, one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects
was a student at UMass Dartmouth, so there was increased security
(visible police presence) at this graduation. Campus Security, as well
as local and state police were everywhere - mobile command center,
police dogs, and a definite tension in the air. The line to get into
the tent was very long as they were searching purses and bags before
allowing entry into the tent.
I got into the tent and headed to the center so I
could see the stage. There weren't very many empty seats left, but I
managed to find one about six rows back, just to the right of the
stage. They had video screens set up to assist in viewing - it was all
carefully thought out and handled very well. There was security next to
the stage, and a nice policeman was at the end of my row. The
ceremony began with the Darmouth Police Chief acknowledging the
increased security and saying that they weren't anticipating any trouble.
He asked that everyone take a look around and be sure you knew the
quickest way for you to exit the next, should that become necessary. He
then asked everyone to sit back and enjoy.
The graduates filed in
and The Chancellor then began the ceremony with a quote from Martin
Luther King
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
It was so
appropriate. The theme of the graduation was 'UMass Dartmouth Strong"
and she mentioned the recent lockdown and the student's and faculty's
reactions and compliance.
She then went on to talk about a man who also
earned his degree in Medical Lab Science this year. During
one of their routine lab assignments, he was diagnosed with CLL -
chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The MLS students supported him, rallying
around him and helping him through both the physical and emotional
times, and he has persevered and graduated with his class (Yay Eric!!).
His classmates all wore orange ribbons on their robes in support of him.
It was a great ceremony.
Congratulations Laura!!!!
