By Scott B. Wong
Daily Bruin Staff
The UCLA Department of Economics has come under criticism from
students recently for having requested a donation from graduating
seniors who wish their families and friends to attend their
departmental commencement in June.
In the short history of pre-commencement celebrations and
receptions, this year may have marked the first time a department
solicited donations from graduating seniors.
“We’ve already paid enough here,” said An
Nguyen, a fourth-year economics student who will graduate this
spring. “Now we have to pay for graduation.”
But Todd August, manager of the Department of Economics, said
the department is requesting a strictly voluntary donation.
The economics department, he said, won’t profit at all
from the ceremony.
“We will pay $6,000 to $7,000 out of our own department
for this event,” he said.
Because expense for the celebration comes completely out of his
department’s budget, August said it needed some way to recoup
costs.
“UCLA charges us for the venue, chairs, microphones and
music,” August said. “If we don’t take in some
money toward this, we cannot afford to do this again.”
The department modeled the donation system after UC
Berkeley’s economics department, which asks for $4 per
commencement ticket as well.
John Sandbrook, assistant provost of the College of Letters and
Science, said his office has asked the economics department not to
solicit donations from graduating seniors.
“We don’t always like to duplicate what’s done
at Berkeley,’ he said.
Students who have already made donations have not had their
checks processed, Sandbrook said.
“We have asked the economics department to tell the 20
students who have made contributions that their checks have not
been deposited,” he said. “Divisional ceremonies have
been very important, but departmental ceremonies have evolved and
are here to stay.”
Nguyen, who was leaving the economics college counselor’s
office, said the counselor told her what it would cost to bring 20
of her family members to the ceremony.
“The counselor said, “˜There’s a $4 charge for
every ticket,'” Nguyen said.”
But August said no tickets will be issued for the event, which
will be held at Wilson Plaza, an outdoor venue.
“There’s no way to govern who comes in and out of
the area,” August said. “There’s no way to
regulate who’s donated.”
One line of the Commencement 2001 reservation form states,
“Number of people/tickets:_____ @ $4.00 (donation*) each =
$_____.”
Nguyen said the line on the form is misleading.
“I was thinking the donation was something extra on top of
the four dollars,” Nguyen said. “It makes it seem that
you have to pay the four dollars.”
The explainer states that all proceeds from donations are used
to pay for the departmental ceremony.
Nguyen said it’s not the cost of tickets but the principle
of paying for graduation that matters.
“Four dollars is not a big deal,” Nguyen said.
“But it’s the fact that you have to pay for your own
commencement ““ it’s the concept.”
Last year, the UCLA Events Office billed the department $6,000
for the two-hour event. But the office did not anticipate the 4,000
graduates, family and friends in attendance that day, August
said.
This year, the office will bill the department almost $13,000
““ more than double last year’s costs ““ for the
pre-commencement event, which will take place the morning before
the Social Science graduation in Pauley Pavilion.
Departmental celebrations serve as more personal ceremonies,
where graduates are able to walk across the stage as their names
are read before family and friends.
August said he received numerous complaints from the year before
that the social sciences ceremony did not feel like a
graduation.
“I am reasonably certain no one’s names have been
called off at the (divisional) commencement,” he said.
Until the mid-1980s, there was a single commencement for the
entire campus, Sandbrook said. After that, the university broke up
commencement exercise into four separate divisions, including the
College of Letters and Science, he said.
In the last three to five years, university departments within
the college have held their own celebrations or receptions, which
have evolved into formal ceremonies.
The psychology departmental ceremony had 6,500 people in
attendance last year, while the economics department had 4,000
attendees.
According to August, the economics department is trying to
accommodate those who may have a first-time graduate in their
family.
“Students can bring as many people as they want”
August said. “We have reservations from families bringing 20
to 30 people.”
“We wanted something that looked and felt like a
graduation even though it wasn’t technically a
graduation,” he added.