High Fashion, High-Tops Mingle as UCI Confers Diplomas on 3,059

For his graduation Saturday from UC Irvine, Joseph Imbriano wanted to do it in style.

The bow tie of Imbriano’s crimson-and-black tuxedo peeked out from beneath his black gown as he walked across the stage after Chancellor Jack W. Peltason called his name.

“It’s a good day,” said Imbriano, 22, a Garden Grove resident who graduated with a double major in biology and chemistry. “On a good day you want to look good and feel good.”

Saturday was a feel-good day for the 3,059 students who received their diplomas from UC Irvine--the college’s largest graduating class ever. In fact, there were so many graduates that the university had to have three commencement ceremonies--at 9 a.m., and 1 and 4:30 p.m.

Several thousand family members and friends of the graduates converged on Aldrich Park in the center of the campus, taking seats in white folding chairs and waiting for the ceremony to begin.

“Did you see him?” asked one anxious grandmother, craning her neck to scan the sea of dark robes assembled behind the chairs. “I thought I saw him.”

As the steady beat of Pomp and Circumstance bounced off nearby buildings, the candidates walked down the aisles, two by two. Some wore sunglasses while others clutched bouquets of flowers and balloons. High-top sneakers marched alongside delicate high heels.

Parade of Speakers

They were seated, and listened more or less attentively to a parade of speakers.

Student Body President David Hurwitz announced that the gift from the Class of ’89 to UC Irvine would be a victory flagpole on which the Anteater flag would be hoisted each time a university athletic team prevailed.

Dennis Shepherd, a biology sciences major who was selected as the student speaker, urged his classmates “to persevere, to reap our reward as we have done at UCI.” Shepherd’s biggest applause came when he recalled “camping out overnight (to register) for classes we didn’t want to take from teachers we really don’t want to know,” and when he lamented the university’s chronic shortage of parking spaces.

Chancellor Peltason, taking note of the number of buildings being built on campus, predicted that the graduates “will bore your children with stories of the good old days when UCI stood for ‘Under Construction Indefinitely.’ ”

Peltason also said that this graduation was symbolic “as a link between old and new California.” UC Irvine’s increasingly diverse student population of Asians, blacks, Latinos and others reflects the ethnic future of the state, he said.

“Be sure to keep your individual cultures,” Peltason said, “but also recognize what we have in common.”

Decorum among the students began to erode as Peltason started announcing the names of all the graduates. An inflatable Shamu the whale was bounced around a few rows before being confiscated by university police. A group of mechanical engineering students stripped down to shorts and T-shirts, trading their mortarboards for blue-and-white striped baseball caps from which orange tassels dangled.

As the mid-morning sun intensified, many of those in attendance took refuge under nearby trees and fanned themselves with copies of the graduation program. A snack stand selling soft drinks did a brisk business.

Nearly two hours after the ceremony began, Peltason finished conferring the degrees and the graduates began the hunt for their families. There was much hugging, picture-taking and smiling.

“After five years of hard work, it finally came to an end,” said a beaming Richard Barretto, 23, a civil engineering graduate from Guam. “I’m all set now.”

“I remember my freshman year when I first came here--it was hell,” said Trung Truong, 22, a biology graduate from Huntington Beach. “In your senior year, you learn to relax. This is a great day. It’s great to be here.”