Morning Rites Prove Sobering for CSUN Grads

To the relief of California State University, Northridge, officials, the class of 1985 graduated Friday with much exuberance, but without the speech-stopping rowdiness of past commencements.

University officials quickly pronounced the school’s first “dry” graduation ceremony in more than a decade a success. The most serious incidents were a popped champagne cork and confiscation of a smoke bomb.

And police and ushers, mindful of obscenities shouted at last year’s ceremony, had a few jittery moments when it was noticed that 7 graduates were carrying individual 18-inch-high letters.

Authorities relaxed, however, when they realized the letters, toted by business students, spelled “FINANCE.”

Ceremony Rescheduled

Boisterous behavior at previous graduations prompted university officials two months ago to order the commencement shifted from its normal 5:30 p.m. start to 9:30 a.m. Officials had concluded that late-day drinking was the cause of the past disruptions.

But as a result of the new schedule, university President James W. Cleary incurred the wrath of the Faculty Senate, the Student Senate, several academic groups on campus and more than two-thirds of graduating students in a campus referendum.

Some students predicted that graduates would drink and shout no matter the time of day, and several faculty groups talked of boycotting the ceremony.

Others complained that the rescheduling was hastily done-- without the elaborate consultations and multiple committee reports that are an accepted part of the campus decision-making process.

Job Problems Cited

Many of those opposed to the morning ceremony argued that it would cause problems for students with jobs and for working parents, especially those with low incomes who might find it difficult to miss work in the morning.

But, when the robed processional finally stepped out through Friday’s mid-morning chill, about half of the 5,895 graduates--including 909 who received master’s degrees--were in line.

It was a turnout that appeared to match the one last year, when 52% of the 5,495 members of the 1984 graduating class attended their ceremony, said commencement coordinator James Manos, associate dean of the School of Business Administration and Economics.

Cleary, who gave the commencement address, said the morning ceremony resulted in “more students being involved in the ceremony itself, rather than being distracted by other activities going on around them, as was the case last year.”

No Boycott Observed

Elizabeth Berry, associate vice president for academic programs, said she saw no evidence of the threatened faculty boycott.

Campus police chief Stanley Friedman said his officers observed “very little drinking, in sharp contrast to last year.”

One graduate created a stir, however, when he stood up during Cleary’s speech and popped the cork on a champagne bottle. Burly ushers quickly confiscated the bottle but left the student alone.

Although he declared the morning ceremony a success, Friedman acknowledged that this year’s graduation might have been remembered differently if campus police had not prevented two students from throwing a smoke bomb from the roof of the Oviatt Library onto graduates seated below.

He said that officers confiscated the bomb and that the incident went unnoticed by the thousands attending the ceremony. The students, whom he declined to identify, were not charged. “Other than that, everything went smoothly,” Friedman said.

Although they avoided the excesses of previous classes, the 1985 graduates did not pass quietly into the working world. Many seized the opportunity to make a statement of one sort or another.

Hundreds arrived with balloons and soap bubbles, both of which drifted across the crowd throughout the ceremony. Many spent the bulk of the two-hour ceremony tearing up commencement programs into ever-smaller pieces in order to litter their classmates with confetti.

The Wave

Several speeches were interrupted briefly by human waves similar to those popular at sporting events.

Tasseled graduation caps were used to express a variety of sentiments. Many business students adorned theirs with fake $50 and $100 bills. Mike Burns, a 26-year-old English major, turned heads with the words “I Dunnit” on his.

He said the message was an expression of relief at finally graduating after eight years of commuting to school from his home outside Camarillo.

Dayna Goldstone of Van Nuys wore two 6-inch-high cloth rabbit ears on her mortarboard. “I just did it to be noticed,” the 22-year-old childhood development major said. “It sure worked.”

During the procession of graduates onto the podium, Douglas Lawrence, 23, an English major, drew surprised stares from faculty leaders when he shuffled up the stairs barefoot and with a 3-inch plastic insect dangling from his cap.

“I just wanted to do something differently,” the Quartz Hill resident said. “I wanted to make my own statement.”