Santa Clara Reverses No-Guest Policy

Two guests now allowed for in-person commencement ceremonies

Santa Clara recently reversed its original graduation plans, now allowing participating graduates to bring two guests instead of none. 

On April 29, acting president of Santa Clara Lisa Kloppenberg announced in an email that students of the 2021 graduating in-person would be allowed to bring two guests. The announcement brings joy to the students pushing for an event that incorporated family. 

The amendment from the original graduation plan is credited to improving COVID-19 cases locally and state-wide. 

The new changes will include an influx of guidelines at the event in an attempt to limit the spread of COVID-19. 

As made clear in the original announcement, the June 11th in-person celebrations are optional and limited in spots while the full commencement will be virtual the next day, allowing students to choose the safety level for their graduation. 

Those who wish to bring two guests and have already secured a time slot to walk in graduation were sent a link allowing them to register two accompanying people. Guests will be required to stay with the graduate as they are guided through campus and must wait to rejoin the graduate as they receive their diploma and have a professional photo taken of them. The email added students and their guests can take advantage of numerous selfie and photo stations placed around campus. 

The email also clarifies that guests coming from out-of-state will have to be vaccinated and show proof upon arrival at the event. Guests traveling within California are required to fill out Santa Clara’s Daily Symptom Check. All guests and graduates, vaccinated or not, will be required to wear a face-covering at all times, with an exception made for graduates immediately after receiving their diploma for a photograph.  

One reason for the change in guidelines may be a petition that circulated over the past two weeks asking the university to allow guests at the celebration. 

By the time of publication, the petition had amassed over 1,200 signatures and 30 comments which collectively called on the university to reverse its original stance. 

The petition, started by senior Izzie Vidalmo, points to other California schools’ ability to accommodate multiple guests at celebrations, even with much larger graduating classes. 

Furthermore, Vidalmo points to Santa Clara’s continuation of on-campus tours, including out-of-state students, as an example of how Santa Clara has prioritized prospective students over graduating seniors. 

The petition goes a step further and uses the size of Santa Clara’s soccer stadium to argue that the arena can comfortably accommodate 300 students on the field and 600 of their guests in the stadium while socially distancing and respecting capacity guidelines. 

Vidalmo added that just days later, Santa Clara alumni Gavin Newsom plans to partially reopen California, allowing much larger events to take place. 

While Vidalmo originally planned to voice her frustrations in an email, the sizable support she got from fellow seniors convinced her to create a petition.

“I decided to only make a petition instead of an email because I realized that it could easily be ignored by administration or they would just say no,” Vidalmo said. “But I figured if there was proof of support for this, then it could be more persuasive.”

It is unclear whether Vidalmo’s petition played a role in changing the original policy. Vidalmo decided to publish the petition before ASG President and Vice President Ciara Moezidis and Ann Codiga met with administrators. Vidalmo saw this transaction as an opportunity to push her concerns to the university's attention.  

“I never heard from the university directly, but I ended up messaging Ciara and Ann’s Instagram again yesterday saying thank you for pushing this new policy,” Vidalmo said. “They had told me it was helpful to have the petition to refer to during their meeting with Lisa, so I’ll take that as a win!”