Wa l k of a L i fe t i me
T
here is something so final about putting on that graduation cap. Like the period that ends a sentence, it symbolically ends one chapter only to quickly start a new one that you hope to be prepared for. In the past 75 years, over 100,000 people have put on this graduation cap, marking the end to a chapter of life spent at Hofstra University. Since its founding, the University has educated students and prepared them for the real world, the one that quickly approaches in only four short years. The first graduating class in 1939 had a small ceremony. Since then, the small ceremony of 83 graduates has grown to a ceremony nearly taking up a football stadium. The emotions and feelings of uncertainty and excitement from soon-to-be graduates have remained a constant. “I had a mix of almost every emotion: sad, scared, happy, excited. It’s a weird feeling,” Timothy McGroarty, ‘09, said. Graduations are now held in James M. Shuart Stadium. But before it moved to the stadium, the ceremony was held on the south campus in Calkins Quad. However, with each successive graduating class there became too many graduates to fit along with the tents, parents, and speakers. Graduation used to take place over a two-day period and included seven ceremonies. Each undergraduate school had its own individual graduation, and the graduate school and law school each had its own graduation. Today, there are four ceremonies over the course of one day and undergraduates
By Amanda Tracy
graduate together. The commencement activities of the earlier years used to also be much shorter until honorary degrees were given out as awards to individuals from inside and outside the University community noteworthy of the contributions they have made in their particular fields. The honorary degrees were not given out until 1948, when Rev. Robert Gannon and Robert Moses were awarded them, said Hofstra Archivist Geri Solomon. Since then, the University has given honorary degrees to some of the most influential people. In June of 1950, President Dwight D.
Eisenhower received his degree. Martin Luther King, Jr. received his Doctor of Laws degree in June 1965. Journalist Barbara Walters received her degree in May 1986. Singer Billy Joel received a Doctor of Humane Letters degree in May 1997. “He wrote a quick couple of lines and sung it to the graduates,” said Michael Ogazon, Assistant Director of Business Services at the University. David Nelson, a Drama major who was graduating that day in May 1997, remembers just wanting to be present and savor the moment of the day and everything that was happening. In May 2004, honorary degree recipient and keynote speaker, and acclaimed author, E.L. Doctorow was nearly booed off the stage when his speech to the graduates became a political rant against former President George W. Bush. Ogazon said that the president of the University had to come onto the stage and tell everyone to calm down and let Doctorow finish his speech. Past commencement ceremonies have brought on some laughter, as well, including a few practical jokes played by students. A student once used a fake hand to shake former University president James M. Shuart’s hand. Shuart screamed when his hand was “pulled off,” said Ogazon. The crowd roared with laughter to the point where they drowned out the calls of the following student’s name. Nelson recalled his own summersault off the stage using the handrails as a vault and said his mom was proud. “Graduation was one of those days that you have in your life, and I don’t think you have many where you’re floating above yourself and watching it all happen,” he said, adding, “No other day, up until that point, do you have a sense of your life changing so dramatically.”
All Photos Courtesy Archives Department
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