Commencement exercises were disappointing

I was awarded a Ph.D. in December from the mathematics department and I attended the commencement exercises this weekend, including the hooding ceremony Saturday night. The hooding ceremony was excellent and well organized, with names being called correctly and ample time given to each candidate.

The commencement exercises, on the other hand, were poorly organized and embarrassing to the Ph.D. and M.D. students left standing at the back of the student section for part or all of the ceremony. It seems illogical that Duke would risk not having enough chairs for the graduates for the purposes of not having empty seats on the field. Moreover, fifteen minutes into the ceremony, when two golf carts of extra chairs were brought to seat those of us that were lucky enough to get chairs, there were still approximately 30 medical students who did not receive chairs and were left standing for the entire ceremony.

Another complaint of mine is that the Ph.D. students and medical students, who march last because they are considered the highest degree Duke gives out, were left to sit in the back. I did not feel very honored left to sit in the back of the student section without a chair. It would have been more appropriate for a count of students in each section to be made before marching to allocate the appropriate seats and for the students marching last to be given seats in the front.

The commencement exercises were my final act at Duke as a graduate student, and unfortunately, because of poor organization, they left me feeling embarrassed and a little disrespected. I hope future medical students and Ph.D. students don't have to share this feeling.

Benjamin Cooke, Mathematics Ph.D. graduate