Graduation Is Costly Ritual

While the money poured into Harvard's Commencement is visible in the manicured lawns, neat rows of chairs and vast tables of appetizers that are prepared for June 4, another facet of Commencement--that is, how much seniors must spend--is sometimes overlooked.

Costs for seniors include required expenses, such as payment for caps and gowns; optional expenditures, such as tickets to the Moonlight Cruise; and incidental costs, such as that of meals when dining halls close.

Senior Class Committee members say cost is a major consideration in their planning of the events, and point out that the majority of committee-planned events were free this year.

"We recognize that it is expensive," says Elizabeth E. Rogers '98, the co-chair of the committee. "The thing we really tried to do this year was to cut costs; the week is so expensive."

Events sponsored by the Class Committee fall on the lower end of the cost scale--ranging from free to $12 for the Moonlight Cruise--whereas events sponsored by the Commencement Office include the senior picnic luncheon with its $20 fee per guest and $35 tickets for the Class of 1998 Clambake.

"No [events] should be cut," says Harvard Class Marshal Andwele J. Lewis '98, "but Harvard could kick in some dollars to help with costs."

Although Carsten M. Reichel '98 finds the events expensive, he says, "I can't imagine skipping any of the stuff. I wouldn't want to."

"It's your last week of college, your last week to be with your friends," he says.

However, class marshals say the College should subsidize some of the events, so that all seniors would be able to attend without financial strain.

"There are things the College could do to make senior week less expensive," Rogers says.

Many seniors point to the lack of dining hall dinners during senior week as one omission that is hard on their wallets.

"No one's starving, but [the lack of dinners] puts a strain on Commencement Week that could be in some ways alleviated," Rogers says.

And, according to Director of Harvard University Dining Services (HDS) Ted A. Mayer, that extra cost might well be absorbed next year.

"It's just a question of budgeting and scheduling properly, a question of planning," he says. "We need to coordinate what we're doing with the Alumni Association."

Mayer says Dining Services will reconsider the issue in the fall. Currently, HDS provides breakfast and lunch during certain portions of Senior Week.

But beyond meal costs, seniors must deal with the Coop one last time before they leave.

Cap and gown rentals, mandatory for all graduating seniors, cost $45; class rings can run up to $760, and if a senior wants to memorialize his or her graduation with a yearbook at $70, a diploma frame and graduation announcements, the bill can really add up.

But seniors don't generally turn to Harvard for help with the costs.

According to James S. Miller, director of financial aid, seniors do not generally ask the Office of Financial Aid for loans for senior week.

However, Miller estimates, approximately 50 to 100 seniors are using senior loans--which average at about $1,500--in order to pay for "expenses related to senior year."

Seniors usually apply for these funds to pay for graduate school application fees or travel expenses, not for senior week, Miller says.

"I have been paying it, but I think it's a little much. It's a huge expense," says Sahngmie M. Lah '98.

The expenses are "definitely a concern" for seniors, Lah says.

Harvard First Marshal Philip R. Kaufman '98 suggests that the alumni office subsidize seniors who need extra money to cover senior week costs.

"Senior Week events are very reasonably priced," he says. "The main complaint is paying for dinner every night."

Wadsworth House Commencement officials did not return phone calls for this article.