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Students pissed that UO will host in-person Olympic Trials, but not commencement

Reporter Joanna Mann, in the Daily Emerald here:

… UO social media accounts faced backlash from students, particularly graduating seniors, after the school announced the decision Feb. 9. Students called for the university to cancel the in-person Olympic trials if it was going to cancel in person commencement.

Graduating senior Ethan Shafer said he had been expecting a virtual commencement, but the decision to also go through with the Olympic trials felt like a “slap in the face.”

“How can you say that you’re trying to keep people safe, and that you’re making this huge decision to cancel graduation for the second year in a row, but then also not even address what’s happening with the Olympic trials?” Shafer said. “The university has not said anything. They won’t even address something that everyone is really pissed off about.”

This is not the first time UO has messed with commencement to accommodate the Ducks’ big-time athletics program. In 2010, Pres Lariviere moved graduation from its traditional Sunday to Monday, to accommodate the NCAA Track & Field Championships schedule that Pres Frohnmayer had agreed to.

5 Comments

  1. thedude 03/01/2021

    Have graduation in Autzen, assign seats with distancing, mandate masks, and be ready to contract trace.

    My guess is Kate Brown said pick 1.

  2. charlie 03/02/2021

    Have the DOJ/Treasury investigations into Olympic Games RICO crimes been resolved? News to me if they have…

  3. ODA 03/02/2021

    Probably a cost cutting measure. How do they pay for commencement? Matriculation Fee? Could be worth a lower level foot ball coach or two.

  4. Dr Goat 03/04/2021

    As I recall, it was Dave F who messed graduation in favor of the NCAA. The first thing Lariviere did was to fix the problem by moving graduation back to the weekend after finals.

  5. Anonymous 03/09/2021

    “This is not the first time UO has messed with commencement to accommodate the Ducks’ big-time athletics program.”

    Some real Olympics-level mental gymnastics going on to connect those two dots. How does hosting the Olympic Trials mean commencement can’t be had in-person?

    Is it just me or is an event with 5000+ graduates not even comparable to an event with a few hundred onsite?

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