Third-year students at Kingston University are worried that their graduation ceremonies will not be happening after some UK universities have started to cancel theirs.
University College London announced a few weeks ago that they will not be holding their graduation ceremony this year, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
An email was sent to students confirming that the university has decided not to hold any in-person ceremonies until 2022. Students who are due to graduate in 2021 will be invited to a virtual ceremony instead.
Part of the experience
“Everyone goes to university for the experience and after you complete your three years, you expect to celebrate it dressed in a gown and a hat,” said KU student Sunny Gurwala.
“You see everyone else doing it and now that it’s your turn, the thought of having your graduation cancelled is a bit annoying,” he continued.
Kingston University as not yet finalised arrangements for graduation this year.
Another KU student, Catherine Zake says “it’s definitely not fair” for students not to be able to celebrate the end of their studies. However, she still hopes the Coronavirus situation will improve although she believes “at this rate, it’s doubtful [that] things will get better before summer.”
However, KU student Alex Vernon said although he understands the frustration of students, he wouldn’t mind if the university “postpones students’ graduations until Covid has calmed down.”
A Kingston University spokesperson said: “The health and wellbeing of our graduating students and that of their families and supporters has to be our top priority at this difficult time,” as the university continues to discuss when the next graduation ceremonies will take place.
“We are exploring possible options for replacement ceremonies at a future date and will do everything possible to offer our graduating students an opportunity to come together to celebrate their academic success in person when the government and public health guidelines allow. We will keep all our graduating students updated as soon as we have more details about alternative arrangements.”
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact graduations@kingston.ac.uk for more information or visit https://www.kingston.ac.uk/alumni/graduation/
Amelia Jones 
Hermione Marszalek