The 2005 undergraduate commencement ceremony will be held June 4 in Magness Arena. Magness Arena is inside the Ritchie Center, located between Buchtel Boulevard and Asbury Street just west of University Boulevard at 2201 E. Asbury Ave.
Although tickets are not required, members of the audience must be seated by 9:30 a.m. The ceremony will start promptly at 10 a.m. No one will be allowed inside once the academic procession has begun. The students have been instructed to wait outside of the Gymnasium, in full regalia, by 9 a.m.
Although the DU website notes that the event is a milestone in the lives of the graduating students it also warns that if those students disrupt the decorum of the event they will be dealt with by University officials.
Wheelchair seating will be on a first come first serve basis, so the university recommends that those needing special access arrive early. There will be a drop-off area for disabled persons at the circle on East Asbury Street south of the Gates Field house. There will also be sign language interpretation in seating sections 3-4.
There is no parking on the streets the day of the commencement, but university lots will be open, free of charge. The university stresses that space in those lots is limited, so they recommend that family and friends arrive with plenty of time to spare.
The speaker for the ceremony is Senator Michael Enzi, a republican from Wyoming. Enzi, a DU alumnus, is a leader in workforce issues and education policy.
Graduation announcements, diploma frames, and class rings are now available at the DU bookstore.
However, there is still much for the soon-to-be-graduates to look forward to. One finance major confessed he had mixed feelings about commencement.
“On one hand I’m looking forward to graduating and moving on,” said Jonathon Brosk. “On the other hand I’m not looking forward to entering the real world and getting cut off by my parents.”
He went on to say, “as far as my post-graduation plans go I hope to find a job, marry a trophy wife and start a family. Other than that I don’t know.”
Graduate students from DU have different futures to look forward to, and different ceremonies. The Sturm College of Law and the Graduate Student Commencement ceremonies are separate from the undergraduate ceremony, but they also will be held in Magness Arena. The Law School ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. on May 21, while the Graduate Ceremony is on June 3 at 5 p.m.
The events leading up to the commencement for individual majors and organizations are listed on the DU webpage at http://www.du.edu/commencement/index.html. Information for graduating students is also available.
