Editor’s note: This report has been corrected to say that university administration did not receive nor decline a petition requesting an alternative graduation location. A previous version stated that the petition was received and declined by administration.
Southern Adventist University will hold two commencement services for graduation in the Iles P.E. Center on Sunday, May 8, according to the graduation page on Southern’s website. The first service is scheduled for 9 a.m., and the second will be held at 1 p.m.
President Emeritus Gordan Bietz is scheduled to speak at both services. Tickets are required.
Southern alumnus Nadine Peteros, who graduated in December and plans to march at one of the May graduation ceremonies, said she launched a petition on change.org in January requesting an alternative graduation location so the university could host one commencement service in a larger venue rather than having two services in the Iles P.E. Center.
However, according to Peteros, a friend told her that Vice President for Student Development Dennis Negrón questioned the validity of petitions posted on the change.org website since the petitions could be signed by people not associated with the university.
As a result, Peteros decided not to submit the petition to Academic Administration as it needed to be a petition exclusive to Southern students.
Referring to another petition posted on the change.org website last year, Negrón said in a statement to the Accent that he believed “petitions that allow only members of our Southern community to sign are a more effective medium to show support for an idea.”
Peteros said she started the petition because she thinks having two ceremonies seems unnecessary since COVID-19 restrictions have relaxed on Southern’s campus.
“A lot of students that I’ve talked to wanted it to be in the convention center, or possibly outside [on] the track and field,” Peteros said.
According to Eve Knight, assistant director of Academic Administration, her office never received nor denied a petition. She said the Academic Administration never received a request to hold graduation outdoors on the soccer field, either.
“An outdoor graduation has historically not been attempted due to the unpredictability of the weather in this area in May,” Knight wrote in an email to the Accent.
Knight also wrote that the pandemic influenced the decision to hold commencement services on campus since reserving a venue in downtown Chattanooga requires planning for a minimum of a year in advance. Two commencement services will be held to allow graduates more tickets for guests, according to Knight.
“We are having two services because the capacity of the gym is such that attempting to put all the graduates in at one time would drastically reduce the number of guests each graduate could have,” Knight stated. “By having two services, we are able to grant more seating per graduate. The past few graduations held under [COVID-19] circumstances have taught us that our graduates actually appreciate having shorter services and being able to celebrate on campus.”
In addition to the two commencement services on Sunday, there will also be a senior dedication Vespers at the Collegedale Church of Seventh-day Adventists on Friday, May 6, at 8 p.m. School of Religion Professor Michael Hasel will speak at the Vespers, according to the webpage.
The webpage also lists several dedication ceremonies and honors induction programs for individual schools that will be held between Friday and Saturday.
