Honestly? LC students need their own ceremony in the building they went to classes in or something of the sort. I’m rarely up at RH and I know kids who have never ever been up there. Why graduate in a place that the students aren’t familiar with. It would save trekking around and trying to coordinates things for people unfamiliar with the RH campus.
Fun fact: Shumer tells the same story every year, according to one of my professors
Marymount Manhattan College graduates at Avery Fischer Hall Lincoln Center. Indoors very nice.
Now THAT would be convenient!
I respect everyone’s right to an opinion. Got it. However, my position is the university position. That a true “University” is a group of colleges, as Fordham indeed is. That we gather on one day, once a year, to celebrate the collection of colleges and their respective graduates, is not asking too much and supports the fact your diploma comes from the University. They have separate diploma ceremonies. The Law School and MBA school have separate days for diplomas. Many but not all of them still attend the official university wide graduation ceremony at Rose Hill.
Rose Hill is not Lincoln Center. The Lincoln Center people are very different and chose it for a reason. Fine. But there are still part of the University. You are not bowing to Rose Hill, but merely acknowledging the University of many colleges, its heritage and pageantry. I dont care if they moved the FCLC diploma ceremony to LC on a separate time and date. But most undergrads and parents prefer to get it the same day and same location. Convenience.
Lefty, I am sorry you had a tough time. I did tell you the train was more of a hassle and so forth. Driving IS better…I did it for years and stayed in Jersey hotels (Parsippany area). People have concerns about the Bronx based on urban legends and fears…when its just not a problem.
The lateness of the graduation ceremony is actually not that unusual. They rarely start on time, and most often the weather is the reason. Fordham was gracious in acknowledging the rain delayed many people and waited…so they could be seated. Nobody promised you a birds eye view of your kid. Nobody said it was a small intimate program for a few special kids from LC. (Though the diploma ceremony is designed that way.) Its a large university with over 15,000 total enrollment including the graduate programs and professional schools.) Yes its big and cumbersome and lengthy program…but its also gorgeous and pageantry and just a glorious day of happiness.
Having a separate program entirely and snubbing Rose Hill and the main campus and Administration would only accentuate the us vs. them mentality…something the university works hard to attempt to quell. In fact they put the Gabelli programs under one name now…the Gabelli School of Business now encompasses the MBA program at LC, the Gabelli LC program and the Gabelli RH program. Unison. Sole voce.
Every year some LC folks complain about this process. I shrug. Some even elect to blow it off completely. Sad.
And for the record, my kid took three classes at LC as a senior, while working Upper West Side internship in saturdays and LOVED it. A new environment, new professors and different diversity. She is RH all the way, but embraced LC and did very well. Indeed. One of her closest friends from RH was a RamVan driver, btw. And he was gay.
RH isnt for every student. Nor is LC. Thus the benefit of two choices with two distinct colleges. BUT…still one University.
Wishing you all success and happiness in the future.
Lefty Lou, I was there on Saturday in all the traffic and with all of the umbrella’s too. My son was at Rose Hill so we did have an idea of where to go to get around it and find one of the private lots. I love the fact that it was outside and in spite of the limited views and the sunburns. It is such a beautiful campus. I agree that a big screen would have been helpful for those of us in the back, but I would never want graduation in some big arena which would have no relevance or memories for anyone.
We looked at Lincoln Center and were in the auditorium for an information session, in order to graduate the Lincoln Center students there they would need to limit the tickets for each student in order to get everyone in. I loved that we could have cousins, aunts, uncles and cousins come along. It was also great that they could break up into different areas so that all of the graduates could have their diplomas presented individually. The traffic in NYC is always a hassle and Manhattan is the worst. I wouldn’t think being somewhere in Manhattan would have allowed me to get out any quicker. The President, Deans and faculty can only be in one place at a time so in order to have a separate ceremony at Lincoln Center they would also need to do it on a different day and Saturday is the best day for the ceremony if you have relatives coming form a distance. Weekdays would mean fighting commuter traffic too.
We all enjoyed the day and thought Fordham did a great job, even going so far as to wipe down the wet chairs for everyone.
Thanks Molly. Many colleges have graduation in a football stadium. I’ve been to a few and didnt like it. Rose Hill is gorgeous and the ceremony is very fitting…it is a bit long…but an hour or so. Diplomas longer depending on what college you went to. Its all good.
Some folks at LC from far away have never seen RH and are amazed at its beauty.
Fordham works very hard to make the many colleges come together as one University.
Its an emotional day for everyone, and tiring. But joyous. Congrats to all. A Fordham diploma is very powerful.
Sov,I don’t understand why you think having a separate ceremony for LC is snubbing RH or going there is bowing to the University. LC is as much Fordham as RH is. But if every year folks from LC complain about this, maybe they should be looking into that and figuring out why. And we didn’t drive into the Bronx because my car was starting to overheat the day before and we were afraid of getting stuck, it had nothing to do with the neighborhood. It’s being worked on tomorrow. As far as the us vs. them mentality you talk about, there is never any time that the two schools are brought together. No senior week activities together. They are very separate, and that’s ok. Why on one day do they need to be brought together?
Molly, you said you wouldn’t want a graduation in a place that holds no significance to anyone, but that is what happens to LC kids who graduate at RH. RH holds no memories or significance to them. Truthfully, I don’t even know which building was Keating Hall. The one with the bell? The one behind us? We ran to the seats, then ran to the next spot, then ran to a Ram Van. And no one wiped down our seats, which was fine, I didn’t expect it, you were lucky. I was happy that I had a couple of tissues in my purse.
And they could hold it on Sunday afternoon. It would only have to take a couple of hours.
Of course it’s a long day, and yes, we could have gotten up at 5:30 AM instead of 6:30 AM and gotten closer seats (and had time for breakfast). I find Sov you saying that no one promised a birds eye view of LC kids a bit insulting. If they did have a smaller ceremony of just LC kids, I would have seen my kid. That’s my whole point.
It was a nice day. Gorgeous? Not sure about that, since I saw very little. It could be better. That’s all I’m saying.
Lefty, dont really want to argue the point, as you apparently dont get it on the University thing. Its not about being “separate but equal” at all. Asking graduates to come to RH, the home and original campus (LC is only 50 or so years old) is not asking too much of them or their parents and MANY from LC are grateful.
I didnt mean to be insulting, but I do find your complaints a bit on the …well…whiney side. Sorry, just being honest.
I wont devulge and divert to my personal opinion about having two separate undergraduate colleges in NYC. I instead choose to be inclusive and welcoming and embrace the diversity…because LC is very different in size, scope, vibe and architecture. But its still Fordham.
As I stated, I was at graduation a few years back and my kid went to RH, but took 3 courses at LC which she loved. Graduation day then was hot and muggy, and the grass was a bit wet from the previous day’s rain. The seats a bit moist but they were wiped off by staffers. Friends and some of my own family chose to sit among the throng as close to the students as possible. I chose not to…and the umbrellas were a problem and there were RUDE, loud and obnoxious people there (I wont get into who). But it wasnt about ME. It was about my kid. And just being there for her. And SHE enjoyed it and savored it. She earned it. My discomfort and inconvenience isnt even the slightest bit relevant.
We drove a very very long ways and a very very long time…to get to NY. We stayed in Parsippany NJ as always. We drove in from Parsippany at 730am. We arrived at Fordham about 825am. We parked without even a single bit of trouble. We had free breakfast in our hotel before we left. Graduation for us ended about 100pm, after all the FCRH diplomas had been handed out, and we sauntered…sweaty and hot and eager to leave down to Campbell Hall to help the boyfriend and his parents get the last boxes out to their vehicle. Security was a pain in the arse and hassled us, which caused friction. Did we complain? No.
We took pics with classmates, and even some hugs, tears and pics with four Deans. Left campus around 330pm.
Sorry you had a rough time. Sorry your van was struggling to survive. (We have one too btw.) Sorry you dont like Rose Hill. Sorry you are all about LC and being separate from the rest of the University. It is what it is.
I think Fordham does a marvelous job at graduation, even if their speakers are peculiar or hard to see.
I heard Fr. McShane call my daughter’s name, followed by her honoraria…and I was wiping away tears…of joy and relief and pride. She had graduated winter semester but walked in May. So she was very early in the name and diploma granting…and a big cheer went up from a LOT of people on hearing her name…friends and faculty. I could barely see her cross the platform at Keating…but it was a very special moment.
I am hopeful, Lefty, that you too can appreciate the special moment on hearing your daughter’s name being called and her walking across the platform, stage where LC diplomas were granted. But how can you be dismissive and unappreciative of the pageantry and beauty of an entire University, its distinguished faculty from EVERY campus, and its student body from every campus, entering down the center aisle at Eddies Parade and being seated at the foot of Keating…?
Perhaps we didnt pick LC (being from far away out of state) for the same reasons that you and your daughter DID pick LC and didnt pick RH. My kid didnt want an totally urban skyscraper college experience. The beautiful bucolic and gated campus with legendary athletic facilities and numerous dorms and choices on campus, yet being inside the City of New York, next to the Botanical Gardens and Bronx Zoo is precisely what she wanted. The best of both worlds.
I get some want a different experience. I guarantee you that NYU’s commencement is not like Fordham’s…its a GYNORMOUS school.
Some people at LC are very “exclusive to LC” type of people. Us vs. Them. Separate but Equal. I don’t support that view. Sorry.
I wish you and your daughter the best, much happiness. Thats it.
For others reading this thread, learn from it. Know what is in store for you.
I also like that all of Fordham graduates together at RH and I think it would be wrong to exclude/not invite LC undergrads to the school-wide ceremony at RH. . However, a compromise position might be to have the diploma ceremony for LC undergrads at LC on the next day which I believe is the way they do it for the law school and the graduate b-school. This would give LC students the opportunity to take part in the university-wide formal graduation if they choose and those who are not interested in coming to RH could still walk in a small LC ceremony and get their diploma.
For example, when my brother went to grad school at another university, he felt affiliated with his program much more than the entire school and chose to only attend the diploma ceremony – he had a cap and gown and it was a nice small ceremony (they even had a small band and a speaker) but he didn’t feel forced to attend a huge ceremony on a football field that would not be meaningful to him.
This is one of the rare problems that crops up with the “one school - two campuses” concept (IMO the set-up mostly serves to benefit all students). My bottom line is that I agree with Fordham having one university-wide ceremony but based on LeftyLou’s post I would say that the university should consider holding all of the diploma ceremonies, including LC undergrads, on the student’s home campus…
I agree with you @LeftyLou. I watched the ceremony on my laptop just to get an idea of what to expect in a couple of years. And when I saw the umbrellas up (those HUGE GOLF UMBRELLAS!!!) and if I was behind one, I would be hopping mad! So, what we are going to do is most likely take a seat in the back, it has to be on the aisle since my husband is disabled (no wheelchair involved, just two back surgeries and most recently a broken hip, so sitting isn’t comfortable EVER) so he can stretch his legs a bit a maybe stand up and not block anyones view for a second or two when it is appropriate. I don’t blame you for being mad. For the amount of money you paid, you deserve to see your kid walk. You deserve that much.
With the amount of money Fordham spends on commencement, they do need to get some sort of screens for those to see in the back, if it is at all feasible. They need to up the sound quality. But then again, they don’t even add classes or bandwidth to handle the increased student body (I’m tired of paying $250 or whatever-it-is a year “Technology Fee” when the wifi doesn’t work during finals in the dorms, in the library, anywhere and my daughter has to either go to her boyfriends house in Queens or come home to use the wifi.)
My daughter has friends at NYU and my co-worker has a son who just graduated from their grad school and they had the ceremony at Yankee Stadium. 35,000 attended and they used the DiamondVision screen. 10,000 graduates. They sat far far away, but at least they saw something on the giant screen. Their diploma ceremony was the night before at the Theater at MSG. But the Yankee Stadium graduation…I saw my friends pictures on Facebook and they were in the upper level and all you saw down below in the field level seats behind home plate was a sea of purple. And they have no rain alternative planned either. It’s on rain or shine and they tell you to come prepared for inclement weather if it happens.
They should hold the diploma ceremonies on the home campus of the student as @spirit77 suggested. I think LC is held in front of the Walsh Library if I’m not mistaken? Which is nice, but when you think about it, what great memories do the bulk of the LC graduates have with the Walsh Library. I know my daughter will be happy to see her two friends (one of whom she’s known since Kindergarten) that attend LC graduate and to get pictures with them.
But it’s all done with now and the best part of all of this is that @LeftyLou’s daughter graduated with a JOB! Just one question to @LeftyLou, did they distribute water bottles like they did at Freshman move in?
Well, I agree the umbrellas are annoying…rain or shine. I get that. Big screens might help. I dont really care where they have a diploma ceremony or where…but I imagine they believe that doing it on a different day only encourages people to blow off the central commencement ceremony, and detracts from the University wide celebration. I know the MBA and Law School are separate days…and some of the empty seats you see in the drone pic are likely from that crowd. Thus…
Pace University has 2 campuses. One is in a skyscraper in Manhattan; the other is a traditional campus in Pleasantville. The NYC graduation was held at Madison Square Garden while the Pleasantville graduation was held on their campus in Westchester County. One school; two campuses; two graduations–it works for them.
More than likely the empty seats were due to the inclement weather in the morning (which could keep away grandparents, etc.). The Law and Gabelli graduate programs have had graduations on separate days at LC for quite some time so one would think Fordham would already take lower numbers of attendees from those programs into account. I differ from soverign because IMO there would be no major harm to the Fordham ceremony if LC had a diploma ceremony at its campus – if some students decide not to partake in the RH ceremony, that should be their choice. Well, no matter…it isn’t up to us anyway…
Big screens would go a long way to making it better. I never even saw where the graduates were sitting. I never saw them put their collars on. That would have been nice to see.
Sov, I just think you won’t get it because you are RH centric. If your kid had to graduate at LC, maybe you would understand. And given the choice of two ceremonies, we probably would have attended the “main” one at LC and an LC one the next day.
No. no water bottles were given out. No towels to wipe the seats either. There was lemonade for sale, my husband went somewhere and got some while my little one saved seats for the diploma ceremony. He said the line was very long. Not sure why they don’t have drinks for sale in a few locations, outside on the paths. Clubs could earn money from the sales.
Oh, Sov, it’s nice you got to get photos with the deans. At the LC ceremony, the parents were roped off, away from the grads. We watched them shaking hands with the deans from the distance, but there was no opportunity to walk up and talk to them or take photos. If that sounds whiny, sorry, just stating facts.
I appreciated the info beforehand about bringing snacks and drinks, it’s what got us through.
And really, they are two different schools. My daughter said when the football team was mentioned, the RH kids cheered, LC kids were quiet. When the Olympic Flame Diner (down the street from LC) was mentioned, the LC kids cheered, RH kids were quiet. They have very different experiences. I know, your kid took classes at LC, great. It’s still a whole different place.
My daughter has already framed and hung her diploma on her wall in her new apartment. She is proud to be a Fordham Grad. She is more than thrilled to be starting her new life, no more papers to write, no more classes taking up her time. She loves her job and loved last week, getting up and going to work. I would not tell anyone to not attend LC because of this, it’s not that big a deal in the scheme of things. Being in the city allowed her to find several jobs and internships that were easy to travel to.
Yeah, you could say it was for her, not me. But as I paid a huge chunk of money for her to go there and will be paying loans for the next ten years, it would have been nice to have gotten a glimpse of where she was sitting and what was going on.