May 2020 | Indiana Daily Student | idsnews.com
GRADUATION
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID BLOOMINGTON, IN PERMIT NO. 267
EDITION
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR LE
C la
0 2 s s o f 20
Where did they come from?
15,063 undergraduates 5,784 graduate students
20,847 total IU students
9.7%
21.2%
69.1%
International students
U.S. out-of-state students
Indiana in-state students
138
50
92
Countries
U.S. states
Indiana counties
Where will they go?
Most popular degrees at IU-B:
21,380 total degrees awarded 15,430 undergrad degrees 5,950 graduate degrees
1 2 3
Bachelor's in finance
7.5%
at the Kelley School of Business
Master's in management
4.8%
at the Kelley School of Business
The class of 2020 was always slated to wa have a special spot ha in IU’s history. As the bicentennial class, comten mencement repreme sented not just every individual acsen complishment of this year’s graduates co but 200 years of success and growth. bu We could hardly have asked for a more iconic way to end our time at IU. mo Then, of course, COVID-19 happened. pe To keep the IU community safe and healthy, we left campus in March an and finished classes online. an Instead of walking across Memorial Stadium on May 9, we spent comria mencement weekend watching our me peers through screens as they popped pe champagne and flipped their tassels ch in hometowns across the country. But more than 9,000 people still graduated, and that’s something to celebrate. ua As part of the school’s historical record, the Indiana Daily Student is briefly returning from its print hiatus to mail every senior a physical copy of our graduation edition. The IDS staff hopes this paper serves as a reminder for years to come of what it was like to be graduating college during this strange time and the ways people still celebrated their achievements. We leave here faced with uncertainties. We don’t know when life will return to normal or when those of us in the job market may find a stable position. We don’t know how this will affect us in the coming years. But one day, the coronavirus will be a distant memory. We will be able to hug our friends on the way out of our favorite restaurants and bump into sweaty strangers while we dance at concerts. The impending sense of doom will be gone. If you’re reading this from then, I hope this letter reminds you how much better that time is than this one. I served as editor-in-chief of the IDS during a very turbulent semester, but it has been incredibly rewarding to help bring readers the news they need. It gave me purpose when there wasn’t much else to do. If you have been following our work, thank you for supporting the IDS. And congratulations, bicentennial grads. We deserve it. Lydia Gerike Editor-in-chief
Bachelor's in informatics at the Luddy School of Informatics and Computing
4.8%
IU-B students graduating with a 4.0 GPA:
0.8%
9.5%
of undergraduates
of graduate students
7,167 at IU-B 8,263 at other campuses 2,826 at IU-B 3,124 at other campuses
SOURCE | UNIVERSITY INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH AND REPORTING GRAPHIC BY CARSON TERBUSH | IDS
Each IU school to celebrate differently By Lily Wray lgwray@iu.edu | @lilywray_
IU has postponed all in-person IU has postponed all in-person spring commencement activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but several schools throughout IU’s campus have decided to celebrate their graduates through various virtual ceremonies throughout the month of May. These celebrations will be streamed via Facebook Live, on the schools websites', on broadcast. iu.edu or on commencement.iu.edu.
“You’re going to make it through it. You just have to persist and continue to make an effort.”
“That was always just my plan because of my interaction with the court system myself. Just to make a difference.”
“They knew once I graduated high school, I was going to do great things. I wasn’t going to give up.”
“Keep your head up and keep working, and you’ll accomplish whatever you are working towards,”
Natalia Johnson, bachelor's in informatics
Rejan Megha, bachelor's in social work
Cassiday Moriarity, bachelor's in public affairs
Ciara Lynch, bachelor's in exercise science
IU first-generation graduates celebrate By Alex Hardgrave ahardgra@iu.edu | @a_hardgrave
For these four first-generation graduates, perseverance has always been a part of life. After a less-than-ideal end to their college careers, they looked back on what made their IU experiences special and what graduation meant to them.
16.2% of IU's class of 2020 are first-generation college students Natalia Johnson Natalia Johnson, an informatics major, had already left for spring break when she got the email about IU's classes moving online. She started sobbing. The subsequent news of postponed graduation was also difficult. She reminds herself that
graduation will happen someday, just not when she expected. “That’s the whole reason I went to college is to pursue an education and make sure that I could be successful in the future," she said. “And when I found out that all the accomplishments that I’ve worked so hard for were on pause or it’s canceled or postponed — that was a really big deal and it was just upsetting.” She said she often felt a sense of imposter syndrome at IU. For Johnson, graduating proves she deserves the success she worked hard for. She is going to start as a consultant at Alpha Financial Software, though her start date is on hold right now. She is sad she didn’t have an opportunity to say goodbye to groups she was a part of, including Collins Living Learning Center, the LGBTQ+ Culture Center and the Center of Excellence for Women and Technology. “Without all the challenges I’ve
faced in college, including the pandemic, and the continued support of the IU community in all my endeavors, I would not be who I am today,” she said. Johnson’s advice for first- generation students is to know that what they are doing is not easy and that finding older mentors is helpful. “You’re going to make it through it,” she said. “You just have to persist and continue to make an effort.” Rajen Megha Rajen Megha is graduating with a bachelor's degree in social work. She plans to go to the Robert H. McKinney School of Law at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis and become a lawyer for public interest law, primarily dealing with child abuse and neglect cases. “That was always just my plan because of my interaction with the court system myself,” she said. “Just to make a difference.” Magha’s father died when she
Jacobs School of Music The Jacobs School of Music will be sending a special alumni package including an alumni t-shirt, an alumni lapel pin, candy and information on IU’s virtual commencement activities. SEE CELEBRATIONS, PAGE 3
Businesses anticipate losses from cancellations
was 8-months-old, and she chose to be emancipated from her mother later on. Because of her situation, she didn’t think she would go to college. When she was accepted into the IU Groups Scholars Program, a program for first-generation, underrepresented students, she realized she could. Along with Groups, she was a member of Delta Phi Epsilon sorority and worked multiple jobs at Ken Nunn Law Office, the SRSC and Court Appointed Special Advocates for abused and neglected children. She said she balanced it all with a very tight, carefully planned, color-coded schedule. Through her jobs and major, she has made many close groups of friends. She said having groups on campus helped make IU small and give her the small town feel she grew up with. She is sad that she won’t get to share graduation
Bloomington businesses faced a new COVID-19 challenge last weekend — the loss of IU’s commencement. Commencement weekend usually brings a flow of alumni and families of graduates to Bloomington’s restaurants, hotels and other businesses. Without these consumers, both big and small businesses stand to lose revenue and face-to-face time with graduates and families. Commencement usually turns
SEE FIRST GEN, PAGE 7
SEE BUSINESSES, PAGE 3
By Lauren McLaughlin lrmclaug@iu.edu | @LaurenM30831042