COMMENCEMENT ACTIVITIES for GRADUATES
May 17 and 18, 2008

The following information may provide a useful guide for graduating seniors.  All seats will be available (except for those reserved for degree recipients and special guests) on a first come, first served basis.

BACCALAUREATE, 3:00 p.m. Saturday, May 17 on the lawn in front of Old West:  Please be on hand and prepared to process at 2:15 p.m.  Weather permitting, graduates will form a double column on the sidewalk in front of the Waidner-Spahr Library, facing toward the Admissions Building.  Gowns should be worn; caps are not to be worn.  The graduates will not line up in alphabetical order for this service.  Please stand in front of or behind the person with whom you wish to sit.  The procession will begin at 2:45 p.m.  Assistant Marshals will direct you to your seats.  Following the ceremony, the graduates will remain seated until the processional is beyond the senior seats.  At that time, the seniors are dismissed.

Whether the Baccalaureate Ceremony will be held outdoors or indoors will have to be decided several hours ahead of the occasion because of the intensive efforts which must be made to ensure that seating, audio equipment, and all other arrangements are in place by the time the families and guests of graduating seniors begin to gather.  Should severe weather conditions exist, the Baccalaureate ceremony will be held in the Kline Center.  In that event, details will be available at the Information Desk in the Holland Union Building (717-243-5121) and on the Web as soon as possible in advance of the ceremony.  Seniors will line up on the concourse and mezzanine level, and the platform party will gather on the lower level.

COMMENCEMENT, 10:00 a.m. Sunday, May 18 on the lawn in front of Old West: Caps and gowns are to be worn.  Please assemble at 9:15 a.m.; be prompt because the Assistant Marshals must arrange you in alphabetical order.  The procession will begin at 9:45 a.m.  Graduates will form two columns on the walk along the John Dickinson Campus at High Street.  Look for the alphabetical signs.  It is extremely important that you are in your proper place in line.

At the request of past graduates and parents, we have not rolled your actual diploma. Your original diploma will be available for pick up by you or a family member on Britton Plaza (or in case of inclement weather in Biddle House) immediately following Commencement.  Please be sure to stop by to receive yours by 2 p.m.

The graduates will follow the Faculty Procession.  You will be escorted to your seats by Assistant Marshals.  As you approach the seating area during the processional, you will pass by a number of alumni representing all Dickinsonians from the decades of the 1940s through the most recent graduating class—2007.  When it is time to receive individual degrees, please remain seated until you are directed by an Assistant Marshal to leave by the east aisle.  You will proceed to the east end of Old West, enter through the door to the ground floor continue through the building to to the west end, climb the stairs and down the hallway to Memorial Hall, down the Old Stone Steps to the platform, and finally back to your seats.  Upon your return to your seats please enter your row from the west side and be seated; a photo area has been designated to provide parents and friends with the best possible view of the ceremony.  At the close of the ceremony, you will follow the Platform Party and the Faculty leaving by way of the east aisle, retracing the approximate route used in the procession. During the recession, the Platform Party and Faculty will form two columns through which you will pass.  You will recess until you reach the end of the walkway where you may disband.

In the case of severe weather conditions, the ceremony will be moved indoors to the Kline Center.  The same arrangements as noted above for Baccalaureate will be in place.

We shall try to make the ceremony as personal and as individual as we can.  This requires the cooperation of all concerned; PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR ASSISTANT MARSHAL.  The Marshal and the Assistant Marshals are at your service to make this a memorable occasion.

Chuck Zwemer
Marshal of the College

IMPORTANT NOTES: 

• Caps and gowns may be picked up at the Bookstore, Thursday and Friday, May 15 and 16 from 8:30 a.m. -4:00 p.m.; Saturday, May 17, 9:00 a.m. -4:30 p.m.

• If you have studied abroad during your college career, you should receive in the package with your gown, a flag-badge identifying the country(ies) in which you studied.  Please check to see whether 1) you have a badge; 2) the badge is correct; 3) there is the correct number of badges (one for each of the countries in which you studied).  If you discover a problem, the Bookstore staff can help you make an exchange or an addition.  A few years ago we added a new badge “tradition” recognizing students who chose to study and remain active on the Carlisle campus and in the Carlisle community for their entire Dickinson experience.  If you studied in Carlisle every semester you were a Dickinson student, you are eligible for the Carlisle badge as a participant in the “Carlisle In-Broad program.”  All flag-badges are to be pinned at your right shoulder on the outside of your robe.  Hoods will be presented just prior to receipt of the degrees.

• Caps and gowns do not need to be returned to the Book Store.

• For those interested in the finer points of graduation:  the tassel may be moved from right to left after you leave the stage.  This provides an unobstructed view for the professional photographer taking your picture.  Women may wish to wear dress flats as the procession and recession will cross the grass, which could be soft from rain.  In the case of inclement weather, you may wish to wear casual clothes beneath your robe and carry an umbrella.

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