An Expensive Send-Off

AS a senior soon to be a "graduate" and "alumna" of this venerable institution, I have recently been over-whelmed by the pomp and circumstance surrounding a Harvard graduation; picnics, lobster clambakes, dances, house ceremonies, yard ceremonies, church ceremonies, etc. After surviving four years of hard work, seniors do deserve a graduation to remember. However, my growing anticipation of June 7-9 has been darkened by my growing concern about holding the event during the middle of the working week and the expense of graduation that must be incurred by the student and his/her family.

I have been bemused and upset by the University's tradition of holding graduation during the middle of the work week, rather than on a weekend, which is the custom at other institutions such Stanford, University of Pennsylvania and Dartmouth. Harvard graduations fall on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; thus, the majority of relatives attending miss three or more days of work in order to see their loved one participate in the festivities. I doubt that they receive monetary compensation for those days of work they are forced to miss.

Many relatives use their vacation days to cover their absence. For example, Joe (not his real name), a senior friend of mine from the Southwest, has 12 brothers and sisters, countless in-laws, nieces and nephews. Joe is the first child to graduate from an out-of-state school, not to mention Harvard University.

Because of the exorbitant cost, only five of his siblings, besides Joe's parents, can make the cross country trip to Cambridge. The high cost of airfare has forced them to drive all the way to Cambridge and thus miss an entire week to work. Three of Joe's brothers work for the same company; the company will allow only one of them to attend Commencement. Yet, since this brother must schedule a weekday flight to Boston, the plane ticket will cost three times the normal fare.

Once Joe's family is in Cambridge, there is the difficulty of finding reasonable accommodations. Friends who live in the area have offered their homes for his sisters, but the remainder of his family will be forced to pay for expensive hotel rooms. Only his parents will attend the $20/person lobster clambake because of its prohibitive cost. Could not some of these problems be alleviated?

Families from all over the country and the world pay top dollar for transportation to Cambridge and hotel accomodations for Commencement week. Most hotels charge much higher prices during this time and demand a minimum stay of three nights. For those families who live farther away and for those students with larger families, the cost of attending graduation is considerable.

Once they have safely arrived, families are invited (expected) to pay for the lobster clambake, a $5/person picnic luncheon if more than two guests have made the journey and another $5.25/person for a luncheon during the degree presentation, "The Big Moment," if more than two guests are in tow. In addition, there is the $7 charge for graduation announcements, the $17 cost of an individual graduation picture in addition to a senior class picture, and the expense of caps and gowns.

Last week's Links Club party had an admision cost, cash bar and transportation fee. The Senior Last Dance is $12.00/person, the Moonlight Cruise is $8.00/per person, and even the talent show is $2.00. Because the senior class committee, which sponsors these parties, does not receive enough funds from the University, they must charge students for each event. I know it is monotonous to list all the figures, but they add up, especially if we tack on the hefty expense of a four year Harvard education!

Harvard boasts about its need-blind admission policy and the fact that 70 percent of its students receive financial aid. Do students on financial aid receive assistance and support with the expense of graduating from this school? If not, how many of these students and/or their families choose not to attend because of the cost? This university opens its doors and welcomes students without regard to ethnic and socio-economic back-round, then reminds some on their way out that they are still not on equal footing with their graduating classmates.

I question the fairness of a system which sponsors an "elitist" graduation ceremony for its students. Is Harvard trying to uphold its image of being an exclusive institution? I may sound idealistic, but after paying more than $70,000 to attend the university that has the nation's biggest endowment, cannot the events of graduation be complimentary, an award for having achieved an undergraduate education?

It seems more reasonable for Harvard to host less extravagant cookouts, which might not be as tasty, but which encourage the entire class to join in celebration. Perhaps for future graduations, housing could be provided in the dormitories (those which are not being used for the reunions) for families that need financial assistance. Finally, I challenge the University to provide a good reason why the graduation event is held during the week and not on Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

Until my senior year, I had no conception of what a Harvard graduation involved. I could envision only receiving my long-awaited diploma in an atmosphere of jubilant feeling toward my school and fellow classmates. The spirit of the tradition becomes clouded when I consider the difficulty that many of my peers and their families face in funding a Harvard graduation. After all, graduating from this college should be a blessing, not a burden.