NWU pakigalaw ang baso, F2F Graduation baka naman

Due to the restrictions brought by the current global health crisis, the commencement exercises for the past two academic years were held online. Two batches of students could not feel the closure of their college journey. The pandemic robbed thousands of individuals of the chance to celebrate this lifetime achievement.

Graduation is a momentous moment for the students. It is the culmination of years of hard work and sacrifices to achieve their dreams. While we commend the university’s initiative to come up with an alternative platform for graduation, we are here to amplify the voice of the students calling for face-to-face (F2F) graduation.

With the lowering of health and safety protocols, the opening of entertainment centers, election-related gatherings, and limited F2F classes, students deserve F2F graduation.

The graduating batch of AY 2021-2022 is the first batch that experienced the additional two years of high school brought by the implementation of the K-12 curriculum. In addition, they also experienced distance and online learning in the past academic years. Having the opportunity to march in their graduation is the ultimate validation that, despite being called “experiments,” they were able to succeed in their journey. 

Aside from that, the pandemic had already robbed all the students of two years of physical interactions, campus activities, and relationships to develop; a lifetime of supposedly best moments was gone. Is F2F graduation too much to ask?

Standing in front of everyone and personally receiving the diploma is a euphoric feeling that all students deserve. Being with your classmates and friends during graduation, despite the difficulties, will provide you with the energy that online graduation cannot provide.

Sure, online graduation is a sort of closure to the journey, but ‘feeling’ the graduation is better than seeing your face on a screen for five seconds. For the last two batches who experienced virtual graduation, we know that the lack of F2F graduation left a space in your hearts, waiting for the culmination you deserve.

Finally, what we ask depends on the current situation right now. With proper coordination and safety protocols in place, F2F graduation is possible.

The Review, the official student publication of Northwestern University, will always stand up for students, uphold our rights, promote our welfare, and amplify our voice.