Students who met with Dean José Bowen Monday to share their concerns about the decision to move the Meadows School of the Arts graduation to McFarlin Auditorium were certain by the end of the hour and a half discussion that there was no hope for an outside graduation this year.
But the meeting, which was called “an exercise in futility,” by senior Brian Kress, seems to have changed the dean’s mind.
In an e-mail sent Tuesday afternoon, Bowen announced that he decided to move the ceremony back to its original location in front of Owens Fine Arts Center.
“I am very glad to have such passionate, talented, creative and smart students in the Meadows School of the Arts,” Bowen said. “Your argument regarding the timing of the decision to move the ceremony was quite persuasive.”
Bowen also said that he paid special attention to student concerns about “the special quality of the location for the Meadows ceremony.”
“This is your day, and I want to honor you,” Bowen said.
He asked students, who had offered their assistance in solving some of the graduation ceremony’s planning problems, to “follow through on this commitment” to help address some of the issues that provoked the move to McFarlin in the first place. Some students, parents, faculty and staff prefer the inside ceremony due to issues such as heat, poor sight lines an inability to hear.
“This needs to be a victory for the entire community,” Bowen said. “I do not want to be divided going into graduation.”
According to the e-mail set by Bowen, there are still issues with the rain plan and reservations exceeding current seating abilities. Bowen also said that there is no possibility of having a video feed from the outdoor location to an indoor location, such as a cool room, as the necessary cables can only broadcast to or from McFarlin and Hughes-Trigg.
There will be a meeting today at 11:30 a.m. in Greer Garson Room 3527, where students can discuss these issues with Bowen.
“It is my hope that you will embrace this opportunity for leadership and accept this as a mandate to be full participants in the creation of an even stronger community within Meadows that considers and protects all of its members,” Bowen said. “I invite all graduating students to participate in creating a meaningful diploma ceremony.
The Meadows School of the Arts graduation ceremony will be at 6:30 p.m. at the front steps of the Owen Arts Center. A reception will precede the ceremony from 4:00-5:30 p.m. outside of Greer Garson Theatre.
