2018 graduation at Dignity Health Sports Park. Photo by CSUDH.
By Daniel Tom, Staff Reporter
The dream of walking across the stage at Dignity Health Sports Park to the sounds of your cheering family members next spring is most likely going to stay that way.
California State University, Dominguez Hills President Thomas A. Parham said Thursday that if “all things stay the same,” the graduating class of 2021 will be the second at CSUDH to celebrate graduation virtually.
Parham was part of a Connecting with Students virtual event Thursday that included other campus administrators, faculty and students panelists designed to check in with students about how they were handling this topsy-turvy semester.
In the two-hour meeting, Parham, joined by ASI President Rihab Shuaib, along with administration, faculty and student panelists, shared their thoughts about what the university is doing in handling the health crisis, in addition to addressing student questions and concerns
Topics covered ranged from the timeline of returning to campus for in-person instruction, budget issues the university faces due to the pandemic, and one of particular interest to returning students: the possibility of increased tuition or fees.
“We want to keep this as affordable as possible,” Parham said.
Topics covered ranged from the timeline of returning to campus for in-person instruction, budget issues the university faces due to the pandemic, and one of particular interest to returning students: the possibility of increased tuition or fees.
“We want to keep this as affordable as possible,” Parham said.’
In terms of returning to campus, Parham said the university is following the scientific evidence, along with guidelines from state and local health experts.
“As a unit, we make sure we protect the health and safety of our campus community,” he said. “Los Angeles County remains in the most restrictive tier (purple) of the state’s reopening plan, as a result we’re not meeting in person as of now.”
University provost Dr. Michael Spagna went on to reiterate that in-person classes would be limited in spring 2021.
“The university recently submitted numbers for the spring where 8% of classes would be in person (primarily lab classes and teaching programs) and are waiting for approval from the state to move forward,” Spagna said.
The fate of May graduation was another topic of keen interest. Last May, graduation was cancelled across the California State University system. Parham said that a poll was taken after the campus shutdown in March of graduating CSUDH seniors who were given the choice of participating in a virtual graduation or waiting for the threat of the virus to subside and have one in December.
An overwhelming majority of students voted for the latter, Parham said, but with the virus cresting once again, the class of 2020 will not receive a belated December graduation and will most likely share a virtual graduation with the class of 2021 in May.
“We have taken a step back in curbing the spread and until it’s safe to do, commencement exercises for the Class of 2021 will more than likely be virtual,” Parham said. “But, if we do have the chance to do an in-person ceremony next semester, it would be combined with the class of 2020.”
