Piles of wood and steel materialized on the north side of the Green yesterday afternoon, indicating the beginning of the College's Commencement preparations.
This year's Commencement exercises will be able to accommodate nearly 2,000 more audience members than in years past because of a new seating configuration that will allow the entire senior class to sit together in the middle of the audience, said Olivia Chapman, assistant director of Public Programs.
Holding the exercises on the Green, rather than in front of Baker Library as in past years, will allow a wider seating configuration for seniors, graduate school students and professional school students.
In all, there will be room for approximately 11,000 audience members and graduates at this year's ceremonies, Chapman said.
"There will be six sections in the front of the seating area for graduating students," she said. "The middle four sections will be seniors and the two outside sections will be for graduate and professional school students."
"There are 2,000 more chairs than we've been able to fit on Baker lawn for family and guests," Chapman said. "There will be bleachers on either side [of the Green] ... that hold 400 each."
Although last year's Commencement was held at Memorial Field, Chapman said this year's configuration for the Green improves on prior Commencements held on the Baker Library lawn.
"The Baker configuration only had room for four sections of graduating students and therefore it placed seniors behind the graduate and professional schools for the last two years we were on Baker lawn," Chapman said.
President of the Class of 1996 Brendan Doherty was the only student on the Committee on Commencement, which was responsible for picking the new configuration.
"I think it looks good," Doherty said. "The seniors will be spread out more horizontally."
"You're not in that cozy little area in front of Baker but you still have Baker in the background," Doherty said.
In addition, Chapman said, people with access difficulty will be accommodated.
The main platform will not undergo significant changes in its move to the Green, Chapman said.
"Honorary degree recipients, the Board of Trustees and the faculty marshals, as well as the marching faculty, will be sitting on the main platform and the faculty platforms," Chapman said.
Doherty said he is pleased with the results of the move to the Green. "Both the sight-lines and the acoustics look to be improved in this new setting," Doherty said.
Seniors had mixed opinions on the change.
"I think that it's a travesty because it's more traditional in Baker," Craig Thomas '96 said.
Jennifer Withers '96 said Commencement on the Green will work well.
"It's okay with me. I'd rather have it on the Green instead of" Memorial Field, Withers said, because "it looks better in front of Baker."
Past Commencements have been held on the Baker lawn since 1953, with the exception of last year when it was held at Memorial Field in order to accommodate President Bill Clinton's attendance as speaker.
It was moved to the Baker lawn from the Bema in 1953 to make room for the large crowd in attendance to hear then-President Dwight Eisenhower's Commencement address.
