Lizsandra Trastoy & Alex Sorondo/FIUSM Staff
As the semester comes to an end, students everywhere are scrambling and cramming for finals. Some students, however, have concerns that go beyond tests and essays: the worries and woes of graduation. For these students, the months of March and April mean more than just stressing, planning, and cramming. It’s a time for paying up. And for some University seniors, attending the commencement ceremony means emptying their bank account, and possibly thinking twice about walking, with fees that strive to take the clothes off your back and maybe your bottom too.
“I was originally not going to walk for the ceremony because it was too expensive,” said Amber Byrne, a psychology major graduating spring 2012.
Byrne, who is graduating Summa Cum Laude, or top ten percent of her class, expressed her opinion on the matter of being charged money for something she feels she earned because of her hard work. “I was surprised by this. I honestly thought it was free, as it should be,” said Byrne, dismayed to find that she was being charged for a top ten percent tassel. “When you add it all up, the student ends up having to pay hundreds of dollars just for the ceremony. I’m sure this has deterred a lot of students that weren’t able to get the funding.”
At FIU, the prices for commencement wear, such as tassel, cap, and gown range from $59.99 to $259.99 for the ultimate package of all three, along with bonus items such as an FIU degree frame, diploma cover, and more. Another concern appears when honors, awards, and tickets are added to the tab.
Such is the case of academic honor societies charging student fees ranging from $65 and up to join as members right before graduation. It stands as a blemish on the University’s integrity that students have to pay for the recognition and accolades they’ve earned.
Like Byrne, other students pose concerns when it comes to paying for commencement as a whole. Alumnae Heidys Hernandez, when asked if she ever thought twice about “walking” in the ceremony, said, “Yes, there were times when I actually did…not want to walk because I was worried about how much it would cost me.”
Hernandez further expressed her concerns by stating, “There are students who have to pay for their own classes and other expenses. Therefore, they might not have enough money to afford these graduation items.”
Daniel Pita, an information technology major who graduated last year, believes the contrary. “It meant a lot to my parents, and so cost was not a factor. I understand there is a cost for tassel material and labor, regardless of [a student’s] hard work. It is a choice to walk at graduation.”
As for other universities’ prices for graduation, Miami-Dade College does not charge students for commencement.
Evidently, some students at FIU feel that graduating requires spending a surplus amount of money. It seems as though students may agree that it would be nice if FIU provided at least the basics for graduation, such as the tassel, cap, and gown.
The question worth asking in this case may be, “Is it all worth it?”
For some, it is. The ceremonial commencement seems a fitting send-off: traditional, ennobling, fraught with personal and historic significance.
For the average student, however, the pragmatism outweighs the principle, and more students are coming to realize that, if there’s one thing they learned in college, it’s how to spot a scam.
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