Commencement serves as a final goodbye to graduates from faculty, staff and other students. But December graduates, who leave Syracuse University for good when other students leave for winter break, sometimes do not get the privilege of a final ceremony.

For many years, SU held two graduation ceremonies: one in the winter for December graduates and one in the spring. But, in 1952 the December ceremony was discontinued, leaving December graduates with three options: come back for the May graduation ceremony, walk early or forfeit a ceremony all together.

Brittany Bart, a history and television, radio and film graduate, walked across the stage in May 2013 but did not officially graduate until the following December. With less than 15 credits to complete as of January 2013, Bart petitioned to walk early.

“I was already in Syracuse, so I got it over with,” she said. “I considered coming back to walk a second time and see my friends, but it’s really expensive since I live in Los Angeles.”

Bart’s final departure in December lacked the usual fanfare that comes with graduating in May.

“As soon as December hit, I was done and left the school quietly,” she said. “Whereas when you leave in May, there’s MayFest and graduation and you’re leaving on a high note.”

Bart said a December ceremony would be more convenient. Getting time off from work and finding a flight to come back in May are the biggest hassles. As a production assistant at TMZ, Bart gets only ten days off every year. She would need seven days and more than $500 just to make the trip to Syracuse, she said. While a December ceremony would be nice, Bart said it was fun to graduate with a large group at the May event.

For Kelsey Hession, who graduated from the Bandier program in December 2013 and spent the past semester studying in LA, coming back to walk this May was a no-brainer.

“It’s a nice time to (come) back and see all my friends since it’s probably the last time everyone will be in the same place,” she said.

Her family is excited for the formal ceremony, and will be making the trip down from Massachusetts with her, she said.

“My mom wouldn’t allow me to not go,” Hession said. “She said ‘there’s no way I’m not seeing you walk across that stage’ so she’s pretty excited.”

Hession, who is an executive assistant at LiveNation, had no problem getting time off for the event. Her boss was especially understanding about the issue because his daughter is graduating on the same weekend, she said.

Hession agreed that a December ceremony would be a good idea. However she said she prefers to return in May to walk with a larger group, especially since her major has only 25 graduates.

With only 10 days left until commencement, Hunter Simon had still not decided whether he will be making the trip back for the ceremony. However, he is willing to pay the cost of buying a last-minute ticket if he finally decides to go. Simon, who works as a freelance editor and production assistant in LA, said he is more interested in going back to see his old friends and classmates than actually walking across the stage.

“I’ve had tons of old friends who have called me and made pitches as to why I should come back,” he said. “I wonder (if I’m) going to see these people ever again, if ever, so that might be the biggest deciding factor.”

Simon said that although a December graduation ceremony would be a nice option, it would not be the same as a spring graduation because there aren’t enough December graduates.

“It won’t be the same pomp and circumstance and fanfare but it would be nice to have something small … kind of like a farewell from the school,” Simon said.

Published on May 8, 2014 at 2:37 am