Scottish students have launched a petition to encourage universities to allow smaller, in-person graduation ceremonies this year.
The petition has been made by an ‘assembly of students from the universities of Scotland’.
In the petition, students say they are “disheartened by the decision of Scottish universities to abandon in-person graduations.”
Raza Yousaf, who is set to graduate from Dundee University on Thursday, is one of the students involved in the launch of the petition.
The 23-year-old student completed an undergraduate Scots Law degree in 2020 and then went on to do a diploma in professional legal practice this year at Dundee University.
Due to the pandemic, Raza will have missed out on two graduation ceremonies over the last year.
Raza said that he decided to launch the petition with other students around Scotland who felt that graduates this year deserved a ‘proper’ graduation.
He said that in preparation of the petition launch a document was created and passed around a variety of students to add their own input.
‘Frustration, anger and resentment’
Raza said there were a number of reasons why the students decided to create the petition.
He said: “To be entirely honest, a lot of it is frustration, anger and resentment.
“It’s the lack of effort and lack of consideration that got me frustrated enough to join in on something like this.
“This was such an enormous series of events for me that I felt someone had to do something to try bring attention to it.”
Raza said a lot of students feel that not enough effort has been given by universities to allow graduates to be celebrated, despite other restrictions easing.
Crowds at sporting events
With sporting events such as those at Wembley Stadium taking place, the soon-to-be graduate said there is shared confusion as to why outdoor, socially distanced, ceremonies cannot take place.
Raza said: “With the Euros and the country opening up again, we started to hear about stadiums being filled with 10, 20, 30 or 60 thousand people.
“It was extremely frustrating that graduation had to stay entirely online again.
“After four or five years of university, students were looking forward to having that possible day in the spotlight, and I’m one of those.
“Everyone wants their chance to walk across that stage and feel celebrated.”
Raza said he believes there are possible ways a graduation ceremony could have taken place at Dundee University.
He said: “I appreciate the circumstances but there are alternatives.
“The university has a very large green area and there are places where they could have held the graduation without it being indoors, where it could have been socially distanced and had groups of people.”
Dundee University
A spokesman for Dundee University pointed out Caird Hall, where graduations are usually held, is being used as a Covid-19 vaccine centre.
“We understand and share the disappointment that we still cannot have normal, in-person graduation ceremonies this summer,” he said.
“Graduation is a special time for graduates and their families but we have all experienced setbacks and had to make sacrifices over the past year and a half, including missing out on major events.
“It is a stark illustration of where we still are with Covid that the Caird Hall, which we normally use for graduations, is currently a vaccination centre.
“Graduation is an event that involves months of planning and, in normal times, sees us welcoming graduates and their families to Dundee from all over the world.
“The ongoing pandemic restrictions mean it has simply not been possible to arrange a physical celebration.
“We have an online graduation that we hope will be a real celebration for graduates and their families.
“Over 2,000 of our soon-to-be graduates have so far signed up to join that celebration.”
Dundee University said they have also partnered with Ede & Ravenscroft to allow students to rent out gowns and take pictures taken themselves.
The spokesman added: “We are encouraging them to share photos and videos of their own celebrations, which we will in turn share through our own channels.
“We are also sending packs to all graduates as a memento following the online celebrations.
“We are continuing to review the practicalities of inviting back the Classes of 2020 and 2021 for a future, in-person celebration.’
Abertay University
The Dundee University student, Raza, said students from all over Scotland were involved in the launch of the petition, including students from Abertay, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Abertay University plans to host a graduation celebration at a later date for students who have not been able to have a ceremony this year.
A spokesman for Abertay said: “We are hugely disappointed that we can’t give our graduates the in-person send-off they deserve this year and are fully committed to offering a celebration in the future to all those who have missed out due to the pandemic.
“Traditional graduation ceremonies take many months of planning, and with national Covid restrictions on large events currently remaining in place and the Caird Hall in use as a mass vaccination centre, it simply hasn’t been possible to offer an in-person ceremony this year.
“An online graduation celebration will be held next week for each of our Academic Schools.”
On-campus photo opportunity
Abertay University said they have organised for students to be photographed in graduation gowns on campus as an alternative.
The spokesman added: “We have arranged for gowns to be available to students who wish to get dressed up for the occasion and we have a graduation photo stand set-up on campus where students can come along and take pictures with their family members or friends, using a slot booking system.
“We wish our Class of 2021 all the best for the future and look forward to welcoming them back, alongside the Class of 2020, when it is possible to stage a physical celebration.”
The petition is aimed at Universities all over Scotland, asking each to considering hosting in person graduations for the classes of 2020 and 2021.
St Andrews University
St Andrews University said the university considered “every possible way” to host a graduation ceremony but found the celebration could not take place lawfully.
A spokeswoman for St Andrews University said: “The Scottish Government’s route map for exiting Covid lockdown made very clear that it would not be possible to stage large scale indoor public events like graduation in Scotland in June.
“Under social distancing rules, the capacity of our graduation venue would have been reduced from 1,000 to 100 people, quite apart from the travel restrictions and mandatory quarantine which would impact on so many graduands and their families.”
St Andrews has also hosted graduation celebrations online, with the offer to host an in-person graduation celebration when Scottish Government restrictions allow it.
The spokeswoman added: “By working together with student representatives, we delivered a week of virtual graduation celebrations earlier this month.
“Virtual conferral ceremonies were broadcast online via the University website and across social media which family and friends were able to watch.
“The Class of 2021 also shared their celebrations on social media using #Saints2021 with celebrations taking place around the world, from Ohio to Oban.
“If physical-distancing rules are removed as planned by the Scottish Government, we will provide a traditional, in-person Graduation for students who wish it in November/December as normal.”
