Radcliffe Council Advises Outdoor Graduation in '58

Radcliffe commencement on June 12 will take place in Sanders Theatre, as is customary, but the following June the college will conduct an outdoor commencement on an experimental basis, President Wilbur K. Jordan announced yesterday.

In response to repeated student demand for an outdoor ceremony, Jordan this year appointed a special committee to consider the request. Although the committee recommended an outdoor commencement for 1957, the Council of the College decided to postpone the experiment until June 1958.

Mrs. Kathleen O. Elliot, Associate Dean of Instruction, explained the Council's three reasons for the refusal: it was not willing to levy an extra charge on the current graduating class without prior warning, there was not enough time remaining to change commencement preparations, and Sanders Theatre would probably be large enough for this year's exercises since the Class of '57 is ten percent smaller than the previous graduating class.

An outdoor commencement, which would be held in Radcliffe Yard, would entail at least $2500 to $3000 additional cost even without a total canopy to cover the audience, according to Mrs. Elliot, who was also a member of the special committee. The added expense in next year's trial outdoor commencement will probably be met by an assessment on each graduating student, Mrs. Elliot said.

At this year's commencement, Benjamin F. Wright, president of Smith College, will be the principal speaker,