2015—Instructions for Graduate Students who cannot attend Commencement Rehearsal
[Placed on the website and distributed to graduate students at line-up]
Please come to Terrace of Bryenton Center for Honors (67 Greenfield, next to Talmage
Residence Hall) at 9:15 am for the lineup. There will be a brief survey for you to take before the
lineup begins.
You will receive a lineup sheet and seating chart shortly after arrival. It is very important that
you line-up for marching in the correct order and sit in the correct seat. If you do, the correct
name will be read when it is your turn to receive your degree! Provost David Weininger will be
present during the lineup to check on the pronunciation of names that he is unsure of. If your
name is frequently mispronounced, you should be sure that you make contact with him before we
march to Hoernemann Stadium/Seiberling Gymnasium.
We plan to line-up on the Terrace of Bryenton Center for Honors. If the weather is good, the
march will proceed double-file down Greenfield St. Masters students will join the procession
with the bachelors students. We march down the center of Greenfield St, turn right on Rebecca
St, and proceed to the bottom of the hill. We will then take the sidewalk that circles behind the
pond and into the north end of Hoernemann Stadium. Faculty marshals will lead you down the
center aisle double-file until you reach your seats. Please remain standing until the president asks
you to be seated. You won’t get lost; a faculty marshal will be leading you. This is a relatively
long march (10 minutes), so if you do not feel up to it, please contact one of the faculty marshals;
he can give you a short cut. In case of rain, you will line up in Saurwein lobby, and the marshals
will lead you into the gym, where you will march down the center aisle to the front of the gym
and find your seats. Seating arrangement will be the same for students indoors and outdoors.
You will get a program for the ceremony, but briefly, the first part of the ceremony involves
speakers and special awards. After that the degrees themselves are awarded.
The degrees are awarded in alphabetical order: MAC, MAE, MBA, and MME.
The provost will say: “Will the candidates for the Master of Arts in Counseling degree please
rise and proceed to the platform.” Do just that! Go, in the order that you are seated, to the steps at
your right (stage left). The first person should climb to the top of the steps and stop until his/her
name is read. You will first receive a hood. Tall people will need to bend their knees a little so
that the “hooders” can reach over your head with the hood. After getting the hood, you will
immediately cross the stage to receive your diploma, shake hands with the president, and pause
for a photograph. You will then go down the steps at the left of the stage (stage right) and then
back to your seat. Each person getting the counseling degree will follow the same procedure in
turn. You should be at the top of the steps before the provost reads your name and then wait until
he reads your name before moving to the hooding stage.
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When the provost says “Will the candidates for the Master of Arts in Education degree please
rise and proceed to the platform.” the candidates for that degree will go through the same
procedure.
Now it’s time for the MBA’s. Same procedure, with a different twist. Students to your left are
the candidates for the Master of Music Education degree. After you rise and go to the steps, they
should shift to the seat at the far right of your row. Now when the MBA candidates return to their
sets, you will not have to step across them, and they will have easy access to the stage when it’s
their turn.
There will be a recessional at the very end of the ceremony. The degree recipients will follow
after both the stage party and the faculty. Just follow the marshal off of the field.
Congratulations on earning your master’s degree!
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