With coronavirus cases dropping across the state and life slowly returning to normal, University of Georgia students graduating this month will be allowed to invite as many guests as they want to their commencement ceremony.
UGA’s updated graduation plans came one day after Gov. Brian Kemp signed an executive order lifting many of Georgia’s remaining COVID-19 restrictions.
“Eligible spring graduates will be provided a ticket to sit on Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium, if they choose, and there will be no limit on the number of guests in the stands,” the university announced Saturday afternoon.
All levels of the stadium will be open to promote social distancing, and masks are “strongly encouraged,” but not required. This year’s commencement ceremonies will be spread out over three days beginning Thursday, May 13, officials said.
Last year’s spring commencement was delayed five months as coronavirus cases surged across the state. UGA closed its campus in March 2020, and students took classes online for the remainder of the semester.
A ceremony for spring graduates was eventually held in October, but the party looked different than it had in previous years. Students and their families sat together in the stands, for instance, and several sections were blocked off to promote social distancing. Most of the deans did not attend.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
UGA said this year’s commencement planners are “hard at work,” and that additional details will be provided as they become available.
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