There will be no hooding ceremony for master’s and education specialist students walking in the commencement for the graduating class of 2025, according to an email sent to students in Nov. 2024. Graduate students who are expected to receive either degree will walk the stage already hooded.
The hooding ceremony is an event that occurs when someone achieves the completion of either a master’s or doctoral degree. Whoever is the dean of graduates at that time is in charge of the event, and will hood the students on stage as a way to signify this. At CWU, there is not a doctoral program but there is a masters program where students can participate in this tradition.
Grace Mitchell, a film major graduating in spring said, “I just feel like people who are getting masters or doctorate deserve a hooding ceremony, and it makes me kind of sad that they’re not going to get one.”
The graduation class of 2015 was the last year the hooding ceremony featured the event having each student’s faculty advisor perform the hooding. With that inclusion, the ceremony lasted 2 hours and 20 minutes. After evaluation, CWU decided to combine the graduations.
“As of right now, the only option being presented by the executive committee is to combine undergraduate and graduate commencement ceremonies, removing the intimacy and admirable distinction generally provided by the hooding ceremony. Graduate students would cross the stage already hooded,” according to the November email.
At the end of the email originally announcing the graduations becoming a combined event, solutions such as signing a petition or emailing Associated Students of Central Washington University (ASCWU) had been mentioned. The deadline to do so was Nov. 25, 2024. A petition for the school to hold a hooding ceremony had over 470 signatures. Thirty of which were faculty and 141 from alumni.
Dr. Rodrigo Renteria-Valencia, an Associate Professor in the Anthropology and Museum Studies department, was appointed dean of graduate education, the role that traditionally hoods the students.
An email sent out by Nick Villa to members of ASCWU had described a student-led hooding ceremony that was intended to take place to make up for there not being one included in the official commencement ceremony. Jan. 28, they were recommended to not move forward with it as it would compete with the official ceremony. This decision was made by the deans, Jim Wohlpart and the commencement team. There was also a mention of General Services Administration and the dean’s approval of this decision after it was made known.
Those who will be receiving a masters or Education Specialist degree will now be walking first and hooded by Dr. Rodrigo Renteria-Valencia. An optional rehearsal will be held on the evening of June 13, according to an email sent by the commencement team.
