A few days ago, a New Jersey City University student reached out to tell me of recent news regarding the college admin’s decision to hold separate graduations for each individual school. Here’s what we know:

“There will be a ceremony for all graduating seniors at Prudential Center where it’s always been held; however, no names will be called and no pictures of the graduation ceremony will be taken either. The separate graduations based on the individual schools will be taking place during finals week. This is an inconvenience for students in many aspects. NJCU had not formally notified the students about this change, it was spread through word of mouth.”

Shortly after receiving this message, we were shown an email NJCU sent the students regarding graduation. The email focused on the smaller graduation ceremonies that will be taking place alongside the main Prudential Center ceremony, with brief mention of mention of the changes to the main ceremony. It must also be noted that the school-based ceremonies have very limited seating (2-3 tickets per graduate), while Prudential Center is open to all.

This would be the first year this type of change occurs. As a result, NJCU students have created a petition to revert the changes. For many individuals, they may be the first in their families to graduate college or attend at all. Students also go through a great deal of stress to complete their degrees and want the recognition they deserve.

If you’d like to support the graduating students, sign their petition on Change.org.