For the first time in decades, Le Moyne College will change the day of its undergraduate commencement from Sunday to Saturday when this year’s ceremony is held on May 16.

The college will also return to holding its graduate and undergraduate ceremonies together, said Joseph Della Posta, director of college and presidential communications for Le Moyne. In recent years, graduate commencement ceremonies were held on Friday evenings, on campus.

The combined ceremonies will be held at the Exposition Center at the New York State Fairgrounds, said Della Posta, who visited a Le Moyne journalism class last Wednesday for an interview. As a result of the change, the annual commencement weekend baccalaureate Mass and honors convocation will be held on Friday, on campus.

The decision was based on time considerations, cost, and convenience, said Della Posta. The graduate ceremony, he said, had outgrown the space at the Ted Grant Court, the school’s main athletic auditorium. Della Posta said the move will provide better parking, air conditioning and space for the families of graduate students.

In essence, Della Posta said: For undergraduate students, the Saturday timing will also make it much
easier to graduate, celebrate and then move their stuff out the next day.

Della Posta said the college is aware of the concern that combined ceremonies could be much lengthier. “We are mindful of people’s time,” said Della Posta, who said there will only be one main guest commencement speaker for both ceremonies, rather than two.

This article was written by: Mia Lesley-Fox, Alfa Balde, Mack Suleiman, Katherine Stansbury, Dominique Bentley, Alana Taylor, Maya Carpenter, Munenyasha Sigauke, Scott Borden, Joseph Calveric, Aydan Piper, Eliza Hodgdon, Grace Faragon, Declan Sommer, Kaiyan Basran and Maya Lemons