TYLER, Texas — Earlier this week the University of Tyler at Texas announced changes to its graduation commencement ceremonies.
According to the university, beginning with Spring 2020 Commencement, graduations will take place at the Patriot Plaza.
"We really wanted to have a grand spring commencement and where the whole community could come together," Lucas Roebuck, vice president for marketing and chief communications officer, said.
The school stated that they have researched other universities with outdoor commencement ceremonies.
"There are hundreds of universities across the country that do wonderful outdoor ceremonies most notably in Texas, UT Austin, Rice University," Roebuck said. "We have a committee that is putting this together, about 20 professionals, from all of our areas, security, parking, registrar's office, events, audio and visual. We're going to make sure this is an exciting, smooth run event."
In a statement the university states the following:
UT Tyler Community:
Thank you for all your input regarding the 2020 Spring Commencement. We are especially thankful to the Student Government Association for their coordination of student input. We are listening to your concerns and have made some adjustments to the 2020 Commencement schedule. Here are the key changes:
1. The 2020 Spring Commencement will take place at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 2, at the Patriot Plaza.
2. The inclement weather plan will also take place on Saturday, May 2. For specifics on the inclement weather plan, please see the commencement web page.
3. Hoodings, pinnings and other college-specific ceremonies will be scheduled independently by the colleges. As it becomes available, information on college-specific activities will be posted on the commencement webpage (www.uttyler.edu/commencement).
4. We are currently working on a comprehensive parking plan. We are committed to having a smooth traffic flow for this important event.
5. As we have traditionally done in years past, the registrar’s office will release the final plans in March, including parking information, for Spring commencement.
The commencement planning committee has been working hard to address the challenges raised by the community, including accessibility. Please visit the FAQ page regularly to see updates on similar topics of concern.
UT Tyler is committed to having an excellent commencement ceremony, and we are ready to work hard to make this a positive memory for the graduates and their families.
RELATED: UT Tyler students pushing to keep graduation inside, university says president hears their concerns
Since implementing the commencement changes a petition was created on Monday on the university's' website prompting students to voice their concerns on the outdoor ceremony.
"Nobody that I talked to wants this," Grace Motley, UT Tyler student, said. "I just feel like it's important that we get it back to what it was."
Motley says her concerns are with the number of people that will be accommodated at the graduation along with parking and the Texas Spring weather.
"I personally do not want my grandparents out there sweating the whole afternoon to watch me graduate," Motley said. "My last name starts with an 'M', so it's going to be a while for me to cross the stage."
In a video posted to the university's Facebook page of frequently asked questions the college states, it expects the ceremony to last between 2 to 2.5 hours and also states the exact length will vary based on the number of students graduating.
Roebuck says the university on average has about 1,200 students graduate each year.
Additionally, students say they're concerned with the quality of the ceremony.
"We prefer indoors, we think it's more professional," Olivia Pruitt, UT Tyler grad students, said. "I'm hoping that they'll hear students are extremely displeased with this, talking about the petition which has over 3,000 signatures, that they'll notice that this option might not be the best one."
The university says they will continue to have discussions on the graduation commencement. They are currently working on a parking plan that will accommodate graduates and their friends and families.
"We're also working with other satellite organizations around us, some of the churches and facilities in the area, so we can use their parking lots and have shuttle services," Roebuck said.
In response to the unpredictable Texas weather, the university says they have a plan in place as well.
According to the university's' website, "each graduating candidate will have the option to reserve an allotment of guest tickets for use in the event that inclement weather requires commencement to be held in the Cowan Center. At this ticketed version of commencement all guests, including infants and children of all ages, must have a ticket to enter the Cowan Center."
For more information on commencement, you may visit the UT Tyler.