This year’s fall com­mence­ment cer­e­mony will require tick­ets for admission.

According to Administrative Assistant to the Associate Vice President Sherry Hayes, this new require­ment was put in place for the con­ve­nience of guests attend­ing graduation.

“We want every­one to be able to sit down and enjoy the cer­e­mony. Last December, we had stand­ing room only in one of the cer­e­monies; there­fore, we’ve decided we need to mon­i­tor it more closely,” Hayes said.

In order to man­age the num­ber of peo­ple attend­ing the cer­e­mony, each stu­dent grad­u­at­ing will receive six tick­ets for fam­ily mem­bers and friends. Additional tick­ets are not avail­able through the depart­ment; how­ever, stu­dents are encour­aged to talk to fel­low graduates.

“If a stu­dent wants more than the six tick­ets they are given, we are strongly encour­ag­ing them to talk with other stu­dents to see if any­one has extras,” Hayes said. “We are try­ing to work with the room we have.”

Although some stu­dents under­stand the rea­son­ing for this new require­ment, there are still oth­ers who are hes­i­tant to agree com­pletely with this idea.

Erica Curlee, a sec­ond year stu­dent in nurs­ing school, feels the six tick­ets per stu­dent is going to be dif­fi­cult for some.

“Graduating from a uni­ver­sity is one of the great­est accom­plish­ments some­one can do. Obviously, when you’re walk­ing across that stage get­ting your degree, you want your loved ones to be there to see it,” Curlee said. “Although I under­stand why this require­ment was set in place, I think it is going to be harder for peo­ple with big­ger fam­i­lies to work with.”

The tick­ets given for com­mence­ment are free of charge and can be picked up at the fall grad­u­a­tion fair tak­ing place on Nov. 10. The fair will be located at the bookstore.

As well as tick­ets, there are a num­ber of other things for grad­u­ates to pick up and expe­ri­ence at the fall grad fair, accord­ing to Coordinator of Career Services Angela Roman.

“It’s an oppor­tu­nity for those grad­u­at­ing in December to come to one loca­tion to get what they need for grad­u­a­tion and beyond. It’s things like get­ting their cap and gown, look­ing at class rings, and order­ing their announce­ments,” said Roman. “Also career ser­vices will be there, as well as peo­ple to cri­tique resumes. We will have banks there and even car deal­er­ships. It’s like a vender show for every­thing that a new grad would want.”

This spe­cific grad fair is unique because Ferris does not usu­ally offer one in the fall for those grad­u­at­ing in December. In pre­vi­ous years, those to grad­u­ate in the fall would have the option to attend the nor­mally sched­uled spring grad fair before their final semes­ter of classes.

According to Brandi Behrenwald, assis­tant direc­tor for alumni rela­tions, the need for a grad fair in the fall was in demand.

“The last two grad fairs that we’ve had in May, there has been record num­bers over 800 peo­ple that have attended. So we know the need to is out there to pro­vide a one stop shop, we are hop­ing to have at least 300 peo­ple come to this one,” Behrenwald said. “We try to get every­thing under one roof, one time, and make it eas­ier to get in, get out, and get your ques­tions answered.”

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