W&J cancels in-person graduation ceremony, decides to have virtual ceremony instead

Citing rising rates of coronavirus infection in Western Pennsylvania, officials at Washington & Jefferson College have decided to cancel an in-person graduation ceremony for the Class of 2020 that had been scheduled for Aug. 1 and replace it with an online ceremony.
The decision to call off the in-person ceremony was made late last week, according to Erin Jones, a spokeswoman for the college. In a video message to members of the class, John Knapp, W&J’s president, explained that canceling the in-person ceremony was “one of the most difficult decisions we’ve faced lately, and for me it was an especially heartbreaking one.”
Knapp also said, “We’ve always said the event would be contingent on the public health situation at the time … We thought it would be possible until recently to have an outdoor ceremony.”
The in-person ceremony had been set to take place at Cameron Stadium, located on Park Avenue in Washington. The virtual ceremony will be streamed from the Olin Fine Arts Center at 7 p.m. Aug. 1, with Knapp and few other dignitaries present.
The decision to call off the in-person ceremony was made in consultation with student government officers from the Class of 2020. River Icenhour, a member of the class and treasurer of W&J’s student government association for the 2019-20 academic year, said in the video message that there was “no safe or reasonable way to conduct an in-person ceremony.”
“It’s simply not safe to gather,” Icenhour said.
A commencement speaker whose identity has not yet been revealed will be part of the ceremony, and an honorary doctorate will be given to a recipient whose identity will also be revealed closer to the ceremony. The name of each graduate will be announced during the livestream, along with a photo of the graduate.
Students will also get caps and gowns that they can wear during the ceremony, along with gift boxes that will contain their diplomas.
An in-person get-together for W&J’s Class of 2020 will happen at some point, according to Knapp, perhaps a one-year reunion in 2021, “or it may be sooner,” he said.
Despite the cancellation of the in-person commencement ceremony, plans are still moving ahead for students to return to the W&J campus in August, Jones said, though the college will be offering enhanced online offerings for students who are unable to return in person or are uncomfortable doing so, she added.