PROVIDENCE — Sunday, May 17, marked Providence College's 102nd annual Commencement Exercises — although it's safe to say that this year's ceremony was quite unlike its many predecessors. The ongoing pandemic has impacted the graduation plans of high schools and colleges throughout the state, with the need for social distancing eliminating the tossed mortar boards and tearful final embraces which ordinarily serve as staples of such events. Instead, the Class of 2020 had to content themselves with a livestreamed virtual ceremony — at least for the time being.
“One thing that we really, really want to stress is that we aren't canceling commencement or just replacing it with an online ceremony,” says Steven Maurano, the college's associate vice president for Public Affairs, Community and Government Relations. “We will still be having a traditional graduation ceremony in the fall. We allowed the class to vote on it, and they indicated very strongly that they'd prefer for us to award the degrees now but have a full ceremony at a later date, which is our current game plan.”
“We know it's tough for the Class of 2020 to have their last half of senior year ripped away from them,” Maurano says. “It's also been tough for Father (Brian) Shanley, since this was going to be his final ceremony as the president of Providence College. Unfortunately, it simply isn't possible for us to host such a large gathering at this time.”
In an open letter to the graduating class, Father Shanley expressed his regret regarding the circumstances:
“I wish the coronavirus had never come to us... This was to be your graduation springtime. This was to be my last graduation as the President of Providence College. We all looked forward to a period of closure and celebration. But now we have to decide what to do with the time that is given to us. Let us all decide to use the time that is given to us to learn, to read, to create, to pray, to heal, to connect with family and friends, to dream about the future, and to be grateful for all the blessings that Providence College has been for us.”
The virtual ceremony was designed in order to make sure that students could list a Spring 2020 graduation date when applying to jobs or graduate programs. It will not, however, mark the moment in which the physical diplomas are distributed. That will occur in the rescheduled in-person commencement which will be held on Saturday, October 31. Also scheduled for that weekend is the college's annual graduation Mass, celebrated in the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul.
“There was just no way that an online ceremony could take the place of commencement,” says Peter Graziano, a member of the Class of 2020 who will be graduating with a double major in mathematics and classics. “We're creatures with a body and a soul, and we have a need to be present with one another physically, not just virtually.”
Although Graziano intends to watch the online ceremony from his home in Atkinson, New Hampshire, he is more excited for the fall ceremony — although not just for strictly academic reasons.
“Halloween is actually my anniversary with my girlfriend, who will also be graduating,” he says. “So it's particularly special for us.”
The ceremony, which was broadcast live via YouTube, included speeches by both President Shanley and his successor, Father Kenneth R. Sicard, O.P.
In his address, Father Sicard praised the outgoing class, saying that “diligence, commitment, and focus characterize all Providence College grads, but none more than you because of all you have endured and overcome.”
Particularly moving was the singing of the Alma Mater at the end of the ceremony, a moment introduced by Class President Julia Gaffney as “a great Providence College tradition.”
Although the graduates could not gather to join together in song, they were able to devise a touching substitute: a supercut video of Friars singing and playing the melody on a wide variety of instruments.
Anyone interested in viewing the ceremony can find the archived recording here.
