And graduation's done

 I think things have changed post-pandemic. And certainly graduations are different from when *I* graduated.

My undergraduate school was very large; I think there were like 4000 in the graduating class. They told us: "move your tassels from the right side to the left side, congratulations, you've graduated." No reading of names, no having us walk across the stage.

If I had known (and if my parents weren't attending), I'd have skipped it.

For graduate school it was a bit more personal (we got our names, and if I remember correctly, the title of our research, read) but even then there was just sedate clapping.

Here, now, there's clapping, cheering, whooping, occasionally cowbell, and air horns.

I don't like the air horns and I'm not a fan of the really loud protracted noisemaking. For one thing: it sometimes drowns out the next name, which seems unfair to that person. And in an enclosed space like the basketball arena (which is terribly echoey anyway), it's painful to have air horns.

(Cowbells are a much more humane idea for those of us with sensitive hearing. They are not NEARLY so bad)

Also, now, students will stop midway across the stage and pose, specifically so their friends can photograph them (despite there being an "official" photographer, and other photo ops). One year a woman stopped and took a selfie with the then-college-president. 

Another difference is that they often have the campus police (often in plainclothes - suits and ties*) stationed around the exits. I mean, yeah - large number of people there and not impossible someone could have a medical emergency, but in this day and age, of course I think first of "someone could come and try to do something bad" and I admit I make sure I know where all the exits are and figure out the best escape paths. 

(*I don't know if that's out of respect for graduation, or so they don't stand out and a would-be wrongdoer might not know that's a cop)

I know who the campus police are - I regularly check out vans for field trips and they run the motor pool - and also this fall when we had to "fire" a graduate student, a couple of them came and hung around because there were suspicions about that student maybe coming back (they never did). So I recognize them. 

But it was very long. And one sad surprise at the start: the president announced that a student of ours had passed away. Either it happened VERY recently and nothing came out about it yet, or it was someone with something like advanced cancer, where maybe the death wasn't totally unexpected? I have not heard news of any car wrecks. (Then again: weekend news here is very spotty). I suppose if it was someone I knew I'll eventually find out. I didn't see any e-mails from my department chair which I think she would have sent out if it was one of our majors. And if it was someone I knew particularly *well* one of my colleagues would have texted me to let me know.

We don't have a speaker any more - I can't remember if they ended that before the pandemic, or if it was something that changed during the couple "virtual" graduations we did during the worst of it. But we had two regents speak. One was hard to hear - she was short, too short for the microphone, and her voice was soft. And I find when there's a lot of background noise (all the people talking and moving around and the echoing in the big arena), I find it really hard to focus on a single speaker, especially when I can partially hear her AND the delay caused by the amplification. 

And WOW were there a lot of students. And no one I knew well graduating. I went mainly because it's tradition but also because I do want to be there sort of as "support" for those few folks who don't really have anyone - who are international students or otherwise far from home, or don't have family support, or whatever. I skipped a few years during the pandemic (even once they went back to in person) but at this point I figure that either (a) I have pretty good immunity or (b) I'm gonna get covid eventually and all I can do is be kinda cautious, I can't avoid everything everywhere forever. 

I dropped the last few cards and one leftover bill in the mail, and planted some iris starts Lynn sent me a long time back (I hope they're still alive, but the remaining leaf tips are still green, so I think so). In a moment I have to start folding things to go in the suitcase - I laid everything out on the bed so I don't wind up with, like, one top that won't go with any of the pants or things like that - I don't have a lot of space for 2+ weeks of clothes and things need to work together. And then I need to fit in some skeins of sockyarn and wind off any yarn and package up the Orchard and Vine shawl components and get my carry on packed. And then check my master list so I don't forget stuff - I have to leave shortly after church tomorrow. 

I have a few time-embargoed posts. Not one for every day; maybe I try to periodically post just a photo or something....