A change in commencement plans

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley has changed its plans for Fall 2015 graduation after hearing students complain about having to travel across the Valley for the ceremony.

Students will be assigned to a ceremony based on the location where they took the most classes since the start of their academic career.

UTRGV had planned to have a ceremony on each campus with the colleges being split between the Hidalgo and Brownsville venues.

Initially, physics senior Keeisi Caballero voiced her displeasure with the original commencement plans. After learning about the new graduation plan, Caballero said she likes it better than the old one.

“I think it’s very good that they have decided to do that,” Caballero said. “It wouldn’t have meant anything if you graduate at [the Edinburg campus] if you took all your classes [at the Brownsville campus]. … I’m very happy about the new plans for the graduation ceremony.”

In an interview with The Rider, Alberto Adame, president of the UTRGV Student Government Association, said he was also concerned after hearing the original plans for Fall 2015 commencement.

“I automatically thought to myself, ‘That is going to be a really bad idea to split the colleges,’” Adame said last Thursday. “You have some students that have been going to Brownsville for their whole academic careers and they really looked forward to graduating in [Brownsville] and now because of UTRGV they’re going to change that. The same [concerns are surfacing] for the Edinburg students. It was just very inconvenient.”

Adame said he contacted UTRGV Student Success Vice President Kristin Croyle to discuss the graduation ceremony plans and potential complaints that might have surfaced.

“We had a decision and [Adame] approached us and asked us to reconsider that decision,” Croyle said last Wednesday. “That’s why there was uncertainty because we were reconsidering and trying to figure out the best way it would benefit students.”

Caballero told The Rider she is concerned that there is not going to be a ring for the Fall 2015 graduating class.

Croyle said the design for the class ring had not been completed but students can receive their ring once it is finalized sometime in the spring.

“They are working on a ring design but it won’t be finalized until the spring graduation,” Croyle said. “Someone who is graduating in December can get the ring when it’s finalized. We really don’t want to rush the design. We want to have something cool for the students.”