NYU Postpones 2020 Commencement as Coronavirus Continues to Spread
The decision comes as gatherings of more than 500 remain banned by New York state.
By Sophie Grieser, Izzie Ramirez, and Eli Yurman
NYU’s 2020 commencement will be “postponed to a date still to be decided” as a result of the continuing spread of the coronavirus pandemic, an email from Andrew Hamilton announced Wednesday.
Commencement had previously been scheduled to take place in Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, May 20, 2020. The decision to postpone is yet another attempt to avoid group gatherings and prevent infection as COVID-19 continues to spread throughout New York City, now the epicenter of the pandemic in the United States. The postponement follows the cancellation of both Columbia and Barnard colleges, who decided to cancel their graduations earlier this week.
“Given the advice of public health officials, as well as the restrictions put in place by city and state authorities, and out of our own sense of obligation to safeguard the safety of our community,” Hamilton wrote, “it is impossible to imagine we could or should hold such large assemblies this spring.”
According to the email, commencement will still be held in person at a much later date, but it still remains to be seen whether other school-specific celebrations will be virtual or postponed.
“Be assured, however, that once we are on the other side of this difficult and extraordinary time, we will find a way to hold an in-person graduation exercise and properly recognize the Class of 2020 with all the pomp and circumstance you deserve and that NYU knows how to muster,” Hamilton wrote.
The announcement didn’t surprise students. “It’s reasonable, but just adds to the list of inconveniences and issues created by this whole situation,” Global Liberal Studies senior Raghu Vyas said. “But definitely the least of my worries at the moment, as I’m sure it would be for most others.”
This is the latest in many measures taken by both NYU and New York City to flatten the curve and prevent further spread of the coronavirus, which has led to at least 728 deaths nationwide and 218 in New York state at the time of publication. Starting at 8 p.m. on March 22, Governor Andrew Cuomo put the city on PAUSE (which included closing non-essential businesses and canceling all non-essential gatherings). At press time, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in New York had topped 30,000.
NYU moved to remote classes on March 23, with plans to remain remote for the rest of the semester. On March 16, students were asked to move out of their dorms, leading to confusion among those who had already left for spring break, and leaving many worried about safety and housing insecurity.
Since then, students have drafted multiple petitions in response to NYU’s handling of the pandemic, including one asking that the administration postpone commencement. SGA has also been in direct communication with the administration in an attempt to receive answers for the many questions students have.
These constant disruptions have been particularly devastating to seniors, said Natasha Roy, a senior studying Journalism and Public Policy.
“It’s already been a really nerve wracking [sic] few weeks, especially since I’m still processing losing the rest of my senior year, and while it was inevitable, I wish the senior class had been addressed earlier,” Roy said. “I just wish that the school had acknowledged earlier how devastating it is that we’ll never walk into any academic building ever again, that we won’t get a proper goodbye to the school and, now, that we won’t get to celebrate what we’ve worked so hard for these last four years.”
