In replacement of the in-person graduation ceremony that was supposed to happen in May, UTEP is instead hosting a virtual one at 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Elias Chevalier, freshman history major at UTEP, said that the graduating class should have been at least asked what “they would feel more comfortable with.”

“The shots are called by university administrators, but personally, they should have at least spoken with graduating students ,” Chevalier said.

Others took to Twitter to comment on the university’s decision to make commencement virtual, but still allow fans to convene at home football games.

https://twitter.com/beccah_14/status/1294331837360287745

More than 3,000 graduates are expected to view the ceremony on UTEP’s commencement web page. Friends and family will also have access to view the ceremony online, with guaranteed availability for on-demand playback.

During the Student Government Association’s virtual meeting on Thursday, Aug. 27, SGA President Jessica Martinez said that she met with UTEP President Heather Wilson  to talk about commencement.

Martinez said that Wilson told her that one reason why an in-person commencement would not be possible is because UTEP cannot “control” what people do in the parking lots which can possibly put people’s health at risk.

“Commencement is an important celebration for our students and their families. We really wanted to make this happen in-person,” Wilson said in a news release. “But an in-person ceremony of this size with the persistent level of disease in our region just doesn’t make sense. We are very proud of our graduates and look forward to celebrating their accomplishments virtually and safely.”

The virtual ceremony will feature remarks by Wilson and Provost John Wiebe along with the traditional conferral of the degrees.

At first, UTEP planned to simply postpone commencement and have it take place at the Sun Bowl stadium. Graduates were even going to be allowed to bring up to two guests.

Not only was the ceremony postponed, but now it is being held virtually.

While some students are disappointed that commencement is going to be fully online this year, others believe that doing graduation that way is the smart thing to do.

“I do believe that they are taking proper precautions,” said Elisha Nunez, junior multimedia journalism major. “But I think it sucks that incoming students cannot experience the college experience normally.”

The university’s official Twitter page stated that participating in a future commencement ceremony is possible.

Sofia Vargas may be reached at [email protected].