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Commencement and Attendance Issues

The most common initial questions arising from the announcement of President Clinton's visit for Commencement are about attendance. We expect a much larger crowd than in past years. Our goal is to ensure that as many as possible are allowed to attend, but security issues make it clear we'll need to ticket the event.

The Office of College Relations, in consultation with other departments on campus, is working on a ticketing plan for Commencement 2000 on June 10. Full details will be announced as soon as they become available. As in years past, Commencement will be held outdoors in any weather. This year's outdoor location is planned for the lawn west of Hulings Hall. In the case of severe weather, Commencement will be delayed until the skies clear.

(It should be noted here, for good luck, that Carleton currently is enjoying a streak of 25 consecutive years of outdoor Commencements!)

We do not anticipate needing to restrict the number of tickets available to seniors for their immediate family members. The broad plan is that seniors and their family members will have reserved seating in an enclosed section near the front of the platform, along with faculty, emeriti faculty and staff who march in the procession, trustees and spouses, and national and local dignitaries. (The College may need to restrict the number of staff members who want to march.) A section for members of the national and local media also will be located in this reserved area.

The bleacher seating, to be enclosed separately as general admission, should allow us to accommodate the following groups, in order of priority: non-senior students (who are not working at the event and who have made arrangements for off-campus housing), current and retired faculty and staff and their spouses, and most, if not all, alumni. Depending on demand from current students, we may need to develop a lottery system for general admission ticket distribution for the other groups.

To begin the process of determining just how many tickets we need to reserve for seniors and their immediate families, College Relations will send each senior a form on which to list their immediate family members and others they would like to attend the ceremony. Depending on the number of ticket requests by seniors, the College may need to limit reserved seating tickets for immediate family members only. Once we have collected information from seniors, we can begin planning for other seating arrangements. Details on fulfilling other ticket requests will be made available on the College's web site.

Please understand that some changes to these plans could occur based on our continuing conversations with White House staff. We ask for your patience as we work through these and other issues of what promises to be a great event for Carleton.