Saturday, May 11, members of Georgia State University’s largest graduating class received their diplomas during Georgia State’s spring commencement ceremony at the Georgia Dome. Congratulations to the 2013’ centennial class!
Welp, they’re gone and there’s a heap worth discussing about their ceremony. I’ll try to be fair and give you the tacky, the wacky, and the classy.
I actually attended the event after screaming and honking through Atlanta traffic, which is worse than a cumulative final. No, worse than our football team’s record last season—still not accurate enough. Atlanta traffic is so bad, a tortoise would get impatient! My apologies, I’m still upset.
So, I arrived at the Dome about half an hour past two. That’s half an hour past the start of the commencement. And do you know what I observed? A graduate in her cap and gown hopping out a vehicle and casually walking towards the entrance. That’s barely tolerable in class. How are you late to your own graduation? #Tacky
People waltzed past CSC’s top flight security with no problem. Though pleased to see they were checking bags, these days I’m too much of a skeptic when attending massive public events.
While peering out into the abyss of graduates seated upon the turf, spectators’ attention were drawn to the numerous highly decorative caps and gowns. And I’m not referring to honorable robes and tassels, but hand-made arts and crafts modifications. As if the affluent Michaels or Joans did many of the graduate’s alterations. Honestly, the decorations were pretty neat. It added a great uniqueness to our school’s personality.
But, the one guy who wore his beanie instead #Wacky
The keynote speaker, Chris Hughes, took to the stage. He said a lot of nice and inspirational words of course. “Create some habit that makes it easier for you to get out of your bubble.” His message was definitely meaningful, but what he did best was remind the graduates how much they won’t miss lecture! He was morbidly common. I think that’s the politically correct way of saying “boring.” I’d rank his speech somewhere between watching C-Span and listening to a recorded version of the dictionary.
Okay, that was a little harsh. But right next door, our very own President, Mr. Obama himself, will deliver the commencement speech. Don’t get me wrong; Hughes is a wonderful guy who helped start up Facebook. But he wasn’t mentioned in the movie “The Social Network,” which came out in 2010.
2010 was the same year I attended NYU’s graduation whose keynote speaker was Alec Baldwin. Can we get some familiar names and faces please?
Nonetheless, the graduates enjoyed themselves. From the honoring of former SGA president, Marcus Kernizan, to the noise and enthusiasm ringing throughout the stadium, the ceremony was an overall success.
The graduates modified attires contributed to the diversity in the building and generated positive vibes. The artificial fireworks and streams were perfectly timed to seize the moment after the grads turned their tassels and launched their caps into the air as a final memory before the years ahead of them. #Classy
O yea, the Scottish Bagpipe players really turnt up at the end!
