Waiting around outside on a large stage for your department to be called while your family sits patiently and watches the graduation ceremony isn’t something all students want to experience.

Participating in this year’s ceremony is a question many seniors have asked themselves this semester.
Some want to do it for themselves because they feel they deserve it. Others want to please their parents, and some just don’t want to be bothered with it.

“I’m not walking,” said Drew Bader, 26, BECA major. “I don’t even care.”

Bader said his parents would like him to participate, but it’s not a top priority. The important thing is that he is getting his diploma.

According to the SF State Web site, in order to graduate or even participate in the actual ceremony, students must meet all degree requirements and graduation deadlines.

There is a graduation application fee of $40, which students need to pay that entitles them to an official graduation evaluation and progress towards meeting their Baccalaureate of Arts (BA) or Baccalaureate of Science (BS) requirements.

Once a student qualifies for graduation, he or she then has the option whether to participate in the ceremony.

The graduation application is available at the Student Services Center and at www.sfsu.edu/~admisrec. The deadline for this semester was Feb 17, 2006.

There is one ceremony per school year. Some students said they feel if they haven’t completed school, they shouldn’t participate. In order to be in the ceremony, students must have completed 100 units.

“I am not (participating) because I still have five more classes,” said Athena Ennis, 27, a marketing major. “I want to have all my requirements done, it’s more rewarding.”

Ennis said she plans to walk next year when she has finished all her classes. Her parents will be happy, but she isn’t only participating for them, she is mostly doing it for herself.

There are other students who feel out of touch with regards to participating in school activities.
“It’s not like high school,” said Mon Saopharn, 28, an accounting major. “I come to night classes, I don’t know anyone.”

In addition to the graduation ceremony that includes the entire school, there are smaller, more intimate, department ceremonies where students are recognized individually by name.
There are students who are participating in their department graduation and are walking in the university ceremony.

“I need closure,” said Jacob Christopherson, 24, a BECA major.

Christopherson has been enrolled at SF State for a year-and-a-half, and previously attended junior college. He spent a total of six years between both schools. He said participating in both would allow him to get a lot of closure.

Jamie Trant, 29, another BECA major, also said he too will receive closure from participating in both ceremonies.

“It will bring it all to an end,” Trant said. “I am excited to go out after and celebrate. I’m going to be non-functional.”

Others said they are willing to participate in the ceremony only to satisfy their parents.

“I wouldn’t do it if the parents didn’t care,” said Walid Ismail, 25, an international business major.

Some students like Nancy Duran, a 26-year-old international business major, are not participating in the smaller department ceremony because they are not as encouraged to wear a cap and gown. She said if she is going to go through with it, she wants to wear one. She too is not thrilled about participating and wouldn’t be if her parents didn’t want her to.
“It’s completely unimportant,” Bader said.