This year, Uni High’s Class of 2025 Graduation will be held at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20, at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. This differs from previous years when ceremonies were held on weekend afternoons.
The reason our graduation is on a Tuesday this year is due to the University of Illinois commencement, though the exact time (4:30 p.m.) was decided by the graduation committee. The graduation committee for this graduation is Martha Mills, Karl Radnitzer, Richard Murphy, and Ben Leff. Together they decided on the 4:30 p.m. graduation time.
Mills said, 4:30 pm was chosen because it was late enough so that students who were not graduating would be able to finish taking their finals and early enough that once it was over, people would still have time to go out and still have dinner.
This unusual timing could be an issue for families as parents may have to leave work early to attend graduation. While this timing fits with Uni’s schedule, it may not fit with students who have siblings at other schools involved with other afterschool programs who might not be able to attend.
Personally, this time isn’t suitable for my family or myself. My parents and sister will have to leave work early if they wish to attend graduation on time. As someone who participates in dance outside of Uni, I will have to miss my practice on graduation as well. The timing of graduation will also conflict with other Uni students who participate in extracurriculars like track and tennis, which will still be practicing at this time. According to the athletic schedule the tennis team’s last game and senior night was originally supposed to be on this date, but is now being moved.
Overall, I find the timing of graduation not only weird but also as though it wasn’t fully thought through. While I understand that they wanted families to be able to celebrate that night after graduation, I find it weird that they didn’t seem to consider working parents and other family members who go to other schools.
Mills also said the Class of 2026’s graduation will also be on a weekday, though it should switch back to the weekend after that. Next year, I hope that they at least push graduation back to later in the evening so working parents and other family members have an easier time making it to their student’s graduation.
