Observation 6

I spoke with Kevin Newborg, a sophmore Kappa Sigma about how they congratualte the graduating seniors. He said that graduation time "is kind of bitter sweet, its great to see them move forward in their lives and profession but still sad to see them go." To honor the work and commitment that the seniors have put into the fraternity they receive a special senior send off dinner. It is actually more than a dinner its really an all day event begins in the early afternoon. The send off begins at a brotherhood lunch were the seniors have a chance to participate in their last brotherhood event will being an active member. Once lunch has finished they proceed ahead to the ritual aspect of the sendoff. I am not allowed to give details concerning the ritual because of the secrecy that all members are held to regarding the ritual. Once the ritual aspect of the send off is completed the seniors are served their send off dinner from the chapter. During dinner a slideshow is presented that details through pictures and videos their time in the fraternity. Once dinner is complete and the slideshow is over they have completed their last event as an active member of the fraternity. It is really their last hoorah with their brothers before they go onstage to receive their degree and then move onto grad school or the working world. I feel that its a great thing to do for them though, it might be small but it truly is a heartfelt way to say thank you for all the work that they have done and the positives that they have brought to the fraternity.

Observation 5

Since graduation is only 2 months away I thought I would use this post to discuss what I found when out about graduation. Undergraduate graduation is planned for May 16, 2010 at 4:00 pm at the Bank Atlantic Center. Soon students will be receiving information packets that they will have to complete if they wish to participate in the ceremony. The mailed packet includes an official invitation to the graduation ceremony and a Commencement Participation Form (CPF) that has to be returened to the university. Once the CPF has been returned then the student will receive a final packet that explains all the finer details of the gradutaion day. But before any of these forms can be completed an Application for a Degree must be filled out. This application is entirley different from the CPF and just because someone fills out a degree application it doesnt mean they will automatically receive a degree.
Students also have to purchase their regalia, or cap and gown. The fees for the cap and gown differ depending on the degree that you are obtaining. Starting with an Associates degree and going all the way up to a Masters the prices escalate with the degree level.
It is apparent that graduation is a ceremony that involves a high degree of planning and preparation. It is not an event that you just show up to and leave with a piece of paper that claims your academic achievement. Thousands of students will graduate all over this nation and it is truly a prestigous event and it is obvious why so much planning goes into it.

http://www.nova.edu/cwis/registrar/commencement.html