Information for the Day of Commencement
DATE: Saturday, May 16, 2009
TIME: 3:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Greek Theatre
GATES OPEN: 2:00 PM
COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS: Nuruddin Farah
NAME READER: T.B.A.
RECEPTION: 5:00 PM, Campanille Esplanade
PROCEDURES FOR COMMENCEMENT PARTICIPANTS
All participants should be backstage by 2:30 PM to wait for the processional to begin. Please form a line on either side of the stage. Please inform friends and family that they may not enter the backstage area.
Ph.D. candidates should give their hood to the person chosen to do their hooding no later than 2:45 PM. Please open your hood to make it as large as possible so it will fit over your mortarboard/cap.
At 3:00 PM, Pomp and Circumstance will be played, signaling the start of the processional.
Faculty will enter the stage from the south end
of the theatre (the side closest to International House), and proceed to the chairs on that side of the stage.
Ph.D. candidates will enter the stage from the the north end of the theatre (the side closest to the front entrance of the Greek Theatre), and proceed to the chairs on that side of the stage.
Undergraduates will leave the backstage area in two lines, one from each side of the stage; if you see that the line that you're in is longer than the other line, move over to that side to even out the numbers.
Walk down the ramp to the seating in the cordoned off area at the very bottom of the theatre's orchestra pit; please refer to the photo of the Greek Theatre for visual guidance. Department volunteers will be there to direct you. If you are the first person to enter your row, cross the aisle in the middle and move all the way to the far end of that row. Please keep these lines moving.
Program: Following the Welcoming Address, Presentation of the Departmental Citation/Mark Schorer Prize, the Valedictory Address, the Commencement Address, and Certificates Commemorating the Commencement will take place. At this point in time, guided by staff members, graduates will walk up to the backstage area and line up in preparation to to receive their scrolls.
Name cards: Have your name cards in hand.
a) One side of your name card will serve as an order form for the event photographer to contact you regarding your photos.
b) The back of the photographer's order form will serve as your name card, so clearly write your name here.
c) If (and only if) you know that English professors at Berkeley usually have trouble pronouncing your name, write your name a second time below the first, as follows: 1) If pronouncing your name correctly is simply a matter of putting the stress on the correct syllable(s), rewrite your name putting the stressed syllable(s) in capital letters. 2) If you worry that the aforementioned will not suffice, rewrite your name using phonetic syllables AND capital letters for stress. 3) If you are still concerned, e-mail the name-reader during the week prior to Commencement.
d) You will hand your card to the name-reader at the podium, the name reader will call out your name as you cross the stage to receive your scroll. The name-reader will then give your card to the photographer.
The name-reader will arrive at Commencement about 30 minutes early to check name-cards. Minor issues of pronunciation can be resolved at that time.
All participants will remain standing until the last undergraduate has reached his/her seat.
Following the processional, the Chair will deliver a welcome address. This will be followed by the presentation of the Departmental Citation/Mark Schorer Prize. the Valedictory address, the Commencement Speaker, and lastly, the
DISTRIBUTION OF CERTIFICATES COMMEMMORATING THE COMMENCEMENT.
Ph.D.s will be awarded first. As your name and dissertation title are read, please cross the stage to the person you selected to hood you; please bend slightly to allow him/her to get the hood over your head. You will then pose for a photograph.
Each row of undergraduates, guided by a staff member, will get up and walk to backstage north and stand in line while awaiting instructions from a photographer.
Three photos will be taken of each graduate. A photograph will be taken upon each graduate's entrance to the stage, at the calling of each graduate's name, and at the presentation of the scroll by a faculty member.
Following the first photograph, each graduate will walk toward centerstage, hand the name card to the name-reader, at which time a second photograph will be taken. Then walk to the faculty member who will present the scroll. Please stop to shake hands and have your third picture taken.
Following presentation of the scroll, each graduate should proceed off the stage and return to their seat.
Please do not stay on the stage to wait for your family to take a picture, as there other participants who need to cross the stage.
Once all names have been read, the Chair will make some closing remarks.
A recessional will lead all participants out of the Greek Theatre, cross Piedmont Avenue, and walk down through the East Gate to the Campanile Esplanade for refreshments. You will stand and leave the Greek Theatre by rows, exiting past both sides of the stage. Please ask your family to meet you outside the Greek Theatre or at the Campanile Esplanade.
This ceremony should last approximately 2 hours.
Last modified: April 23, 2009