UTEP Spring 2014 Commencement Ceremony Moved To Sun Bowl Stadium

UTEP sent out a surprise e-mail to students about the exciting changes made to the 2014 spring commencement ceremony, in honor of the Centennial Year. This may seem exciting for the university but not so much for the graduates.

UTEP usually has three ceremonies in the Don Haskins Center, separating the different colleges throughout graduation day. The big change for Spring 2014 will have all of the graduates in a single ceremony, taking place in Sun Bowl Stadium.

I just attended my brother's Winter 2013 commencement ceremony which was held in the Don Haskins Center and it seemed like forever. My family and I waited hours just for my brother's five minutes of grad fame. Don't get me wrong, I was incredibly proud of my brother graduating but do these ceremonies have to be so long and boring?

I have been counting the days till graduation and now I am not so excited. I just want to grab my diploma, smile, wave and leave. Only President Natalicio knows how long this ceremony will be now. Thank goodness they will have fireworks to end the ceremony because half of the audience and graduates will probably be asleep by then.

I don't mean to sound so negative but in my opinion, this just doesn't seem to be the best way to celebrate the Centennial Year. Plenty of other UTEP students have taken to social media to discuss the changes and opinions are mixed. Do you agree or disagree? What other ways could students, families and alumni come together on graduation to celebrate?