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University of Texas Rio Grande Valley graduates from Edinburg and Brownsville are set to graduate together as the university has decided to move all commencement ceremonies to the Bert Ogden Arena.
Brownsville students have had their graduation ceremony on campus even before the inception of UTRGV. With most Brownsville students sharing the experience of having to commute back and forth between campuses, they must travel one last time as part of their graduation ceremony.
UTRGV Vice President of University Marketing & Communications Patrick Gonzales said the decisions reflected feedback from Brownsville students, graduates, faculty and staff.
The concerns were about the discomfort and safety risks of outdoor ceremonies in extreme heat and unpredictable weather which has rescheduled ceremonies in the past.
“It’s about providing the best experience for what is the biggest day of our students’ academic career,” Gonzales said. “Everything leads to commencement and when we get feedback from students saying ‘Why did we have it here? It’s hot.’ When we have students passing out, guests passing out we have to look at that and say ‘This isn’t fair.’ Because we have another set of students graduating indoors, air conditioned, in a nice venue that provides a great experience. And so it’s about allowing all our graduating students to have that same experience.”
UTRGV had a total of 6,069 graduates in fall 2023 and spring 2024.
Out of that total, 4,719 students chose to attend the graduation ceremony in Edinburg. In Brownsville, 1,350 students walked the stage with 609 students in fall 2023 and 741 students in spring 2024.
On the Frequently Asked Questions on UTRGV’s Guide to Graduation and Commencement webpage, one section states that student feedback from the results of surveys were conducted.
The survey had fall 2023, spring 2024 graduates and fall 2024 Brownsville Roundup participants. The fall 2023 graduates had about 66% who were agreeable and spring 2024 graduates at 76% were agreeable to an indoor ceremony at Bert Ogden Arena. The fall 2024 Brownsville Roundup participants had 86%.
“We obviously want the students’ input but at the end of the day, there’s also a lot of variants that just come into play,” he said. “The video board overheating, the weather, possible rain and the delay, female graduates walking in grass in high heels and stumbling. It all comes down to the experience and the outdoor ceremony was no longer providing the commencement experience that we envisioned for our students.”
Another frequently asked question was if there were any other indoor locations in Cameron County to accommodate the ceremony.
Gonzales said the university checked around the area for example at Jacob Brown Auditorium, the Harlingen Convention Center and the South Padre Island Convention Center but the facilities would not meet the logistical requirements and overall seating capacity for the ceremony.
Alondra Vela, a UTRGV multidisciplinary studies junior based in Brownsville, said she sees the pros and cons of having the ceremony in Edinburg.
Like most UTRGV Brownsville students, Vela has most of her classes in Edinburg and has to travel back and forth multiple times weekly.
“I feel like in organizations and in different activities they usually exclude Brownsville,” she said. “I feel like Brownsville usually is left out or they don’t offer many things here in Brownsville. So I feel like they should think about Brownsville a little bit maybe and I know that there’s less people in Brownsville but they should see how it works out and if it doesn’t, try to keep (the ceremonies) at both.”
Still about a few semesters from graduating, Vela said the biggest pro to the change is not having to deal with the difficult weather.
“People will be more comfortable,” she said. “It won’t be hot and then in case it rains, they don’t have to worry about that or if it’s too cold.”
She added having the ceremony in a controlled setting will also help the recording and livestream of the graduation for people not in attendance.
During the last two ceremonies held in Brownsville, there were issues with the video board due to overheating.
A con she sees is Brownsville students and their guests having a difficult time traveling to Edinburg and the limited seating.
“For some people living in Brownsville, they might not have a car or some people might not have the ability to travel a lot or maybe their parents work … and they might not have time to make it,” Vela said.
The ceremonies in Brownsville did not have tickets and graduates could invite as many people as they wanted. Vela said the limited tickets might be an issue for students like herself coming from a large family.
“My whole family here at my house, it’s like 10 of us … and that’s not even extended family like my tios and tias,” she said. “We’ll barely have enough so, I think that can be a bit challenging for people that want to bring other people.”
To address travel issues, UTRGV will be providing transportation for Brownsville students and their guests to the ceremony in Edinburg.
“The usual charter buses that run during the week to take our students back and forth, that same service provided by the university will be provided on the day of graduation,” Gonzales said. “We’re currently asking when we reach out to our graduates if they need transportation. So, whatever that amount is, we’ll definitely plan and more.”
Fall graduation takes place on Friday, Dec. 13 and Saturday, Dec 14.
Asked if UTRGV going forward will keep commencements at Bert Ogden Arena, Gonzales said it would with the only change being if Cameron County gets an arena to facilitate it.
