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Brigitte Ortiz | THE RIDER
Spring 2021 and the Class of 2020 graduates will have the option to participate in in-person commencement ceremonies in May. There will be five days to accommodate all graduates from both campuses.
Sofia Almeda, university registrar, said UTRGV decided to make the ceremonies optional, given that COVID-19 cases are decreasing and the vaccine is more widely available.
“We also know that not everybody has a chance to get the vaccine or may not be comfortable getting it, and so for that reason, students also have the option to participate virtually if they wish to,” Almeda said.
For Spring 2021 graduates, ceremonies on the Edinburg campus will take place in the E16 parking lot May 7. The Brownsville campus will have their ceremonies May 8 in parking lot B3.
“The following week on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the 13, 14 and 15, we’ll hold ceremonies for all of our certified 2020 graduates, with the Brownsville campus ceremonies happening on Thursday, and our Edinburg campus ceremonies being held on the 14 and 15,” she said. “This year, it’s our 2021 graduates that have the option to participate virtually. Our 2020 graduates don’t have the option to participate virtually since they already had a virtual ceremony last year.”
Almeda said guests unable to attend can view the ceremony via livestream. She said the links will be provided before the ceremony.
“For students and guests who don’t want to come to campus and be in person at all, they will have access to a link where they will participate virtually,” Almeda said. “And it will be a series of images of all of the graduates being made available online along with their messages, so that will look a lot like what we already did for our 2020 graduates.”
She said the ceremonies will be held in the parking lots because it is the safest option, given the number of people that will be attending.
“[The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] does indicate that outdoor spaces are safer than enclosed ones, and we really need ample space to spread out and get seating right and have everybody socially distance,” Almeda said. “And the only place that we could accommodate such a large area would be in the parking lot.”
She said some of the safety measures include fewer university leaders on stage in order to maintain social-distancing guidelines.
“In addition to that, the number of guests for all of our participants is limited to four,” Almeda said. “And those tickets will be made available electronically to students who RSVP. And families will fit in those groups of four, but they will be separated by six feet from any other family in attendance. Students who are being seated to cross the stage will also be six feet apart from each other. … All guests and graduates and staff will be required to wear … masks at all times.”
She said RSVPs that are submitted to the university will determine what times the college ceremonies will take place. Almeda said they anticipate that the times will be announced for the designated dates sometime the week of April 12.
Paul Chouy/UTRGV Marketing and Communications
“We’re very excited to be able to host an in-person ceremony, and we know that it will look a little bit different,” she said. “But we also know this is the best way to have a safe but still joyous experience for students and their families. UTRGV staff has gone more than a year now without hosting a commencement ceremony, and it’s something that we typically look forward to and enjoy with our students, so we’re excited about it upcoming.”
Enrique Soto, who graduated in December 2020 with a bachelor of science degree in kinesiology, said he was surprised to hear that his cohort will have an in-person ceremony this year.
“We wanted it to be during our year, December 2020, right,” Soto said. “Since it already passed, I feel like I do want to go but at the same time, we have to keep moving forward.”
He said his classmates are thinking about attending so their parents can see them cross the stage.
David Pike/University Marketing and Communications
Asked what his opinion was about the locations, he replied, “I believe they’re OK. One, because it’s in open air, and it’s more safe. … I think it could have been done in the stadium, maybe … for more people to show up. … That would be another option. I think Sams Stadium here in Brownsville or Sports Park, I think it could have been better or even [H-E-B Park], even though it’s in Edinburg. I don’t mind. But here in Brownsville, I think it’s fine, just as the university takes the safety precautions to separate all people and everybody uses face masks, we’re good.”
