One day after Acting College President James Wright announced the College will move Commencement ceremonies from Baker Library's front lawn to Memorial Field, seniors said they are disappointed with the decision and think the College should not move the ceremonies.
Wright said Tuesday he decided to move the ceremonies because the space between Webster Hall and Sanborn Library will not be able to accommodate the expected huge crowds who will want to see U.S. President Bill Clinton deliver the keynote address.
About 20,000 people are expected to attend the June 11 ceremonies, more than twice the usual number.
Many seniors said they are excited Clinton is coming, but do not want the ceremonies to be moved because of the President.
Seniors would "like to see [Commencement] at Baker lawn and if President Clinton is unwilling to appear at Baker or if President Wright thinks it's going to be too crowded there, maybe [Clinton] shouldn't come," Jon Belk '95 said.
Peter Jolicoeur '95 said he thinks the space concerns are overblown. "It's a pretty large lawn," he said. "I just don't see how there would be problems of holding extra people."
Class of 1995 President Alyse Kornfeld said the general reaction from seniors has been "extremely negative." She said some students are upset because Commencement will not be held at the picturesque location in front of Baker Library.
"Having graduation in such a beautiful setting is something that's unique to Dartmouth, and I wish we would be able to uphold that tradition," Kornfeld said.
"One of the reasons people don't like the idea of having [Commencement] on the football field [is] because when we matriculated in Baker freshman year, we were told that Baker is the place where we begin and end our Dartmouth careers," Kornfeld said.
Jolicoeur said it is an honor that Clinton chose to speak at Dartmouth, but said Clinton's presence would detract from the graduation ceremony.
"It seems obvious we're going to be accommodating a media circus here in Hanover," he said.
Commencement has been held in front of Baker Library since 1953, when the College moved it from the Bema because of the large crowds expected for then U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Natalie Herring '95 said having Commencement on the football field lessens the quality of the ceremony.
"It will still be a special day, but it takes something away having your parents in the stands as if your were in the starting lineup of a football game instead of graduating from college," she said.
Joseph Dadzie '95 said he had been looking forward to having graduation on Baker lawn, which is significantly smaller than Memorial Field. The ceremony "will lose its intimacy" at Memorial Field, he said.
Although the majority of seniors said they opposed having Commencement at Memorial Field, some said the College had no choice but to move the ceremonies.
"I guess we're losing the picturesque view on the Green, but logistically it wouldn't have worked on the Green," Cliff Weiss '95 said.
He added not graduating on the Green would be a bit disappointing, but he would gladly "tradoff the Green for the President of the United States."
Belk said, "Commencement is a culmination of our intellectual and personal growth and it should be held at the intellectual heart of campus, not on the football field."
Belk also questioned Clinton's motives for coming to Dartmouth.
"I believe it is painfully obvious that [Clinton] is using Dartmouth's commencement as one of his feelers for the '96 campaign, and it diminishes the specialness of his coming," Belk said.
Despite the security concerns of having Commencement on Baker lawn, Belk said this is still "the natural location" of the ceremonies.
