Four Years in a Day

May 8, 2011: the culmination of 1353 days of classes, relationships and assignments for 617 undergraduate students.

Undergraduate Degree Distribution

For 105 undergraduates, this day will serve as a security for the work they will complete over the summer. 59 others who completed their degrees in the fall semester will have the opportunity to walk with their class.
 
110 graduate students will spend slightly less time concluding their efforts of one to three or more years of work on their graduate degrees the previous day.

The commencement exercises, lasting a few hours, harbors different meanings to different graduates. For Teige Weidner, graduating with a Masters in Business Administration, the commencement serves as the opportunity to show his family what he has accomplished.

Graduate Degree Distribution

Saturday, the commencement day for Graduate students, will also be the culmination of Weidner’s seven years at the University of Portland. During his time on campus, Weidner earned degrees in Music and Spanish in the spring of 2008, worked as a Resident Assistant (RA) in Villa Maria Hall his junior and senior years, helped lead the Villa Maria Drum Squad for Soccer matches, worked for Campus Ministry and served as Assistant Hall Director for Shipstad and Villa Maria Halls over the last three years.

For Bob Alger, a Mechanical Engineering major, Sunday will serve as a last opportunity to interact with friends before they all split off to follow their career paths. “[Graduation] will be a culmination of my 18 years of schooling (including kindergarten and preschool) but the ceremony does not mean much to me personally.”

Kyle Kearney, graduating with degrees in Computer Science and Math, also shares the feeling of ambivalence toward Commencement, considering it “such a small part of the last few weeks of the semester (Founder’s Day presentation, finals and saying goodbye to friends.)”

Brian Burger, a Drama major, is glad to walk on Sunday but not looking forward to the lengthy ceremony he believes could last up to five hours.

Bobby Manson, graduating with Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering, has his fear toward the ceremony but also reminds himself he has had 22 years of preparation for this day, so he hopefully will not be as afraid once he claims his degree.

Biology Major Sam Luty has chosen to view the weekend as the culmination of hard work but also “crazy exciting and wonderful.”

For some graduates, they will leave this weekend knowing what they will be doing. Kearney will take a few weeks off to visit his friend in Montana and relax in San Diego, his hometown, before starting work at the Beaverton, Ore. branch of Cypress Semiconductor, a company manufacturing and designing products using semiconductors.

Alger will try his luck finding work either in Portland or Seattle in the field of robotics. He hopes to work either in dark factories, locations operated solely by robots, on military drones or another branch of robotics that has practical application and room for future expansion. Over the summer Alger will work on staffing concerts and working with his father’s company Seattle Sports Science, producer of the SideKick®, a soccer equivalent of baseball pitching machines.

Tamara Caruso, graduating with a Secondary Education Degree, will walk on Sunday but will be sticking around for the next few weeks as her student teaching comes to a close.

Other graduates have no or little clue. Weidner is hoping to remain in the Portland area near his girlfriend and has been applying all over the area, but he will continue his search around here and up in his Woodinville, Wash. community, in case his Portland job search comes up empty.

What to expect at Graduation (Rob Finch, The Oregonian)

Brian Burger is looking forward to focus solely on Theater and acting rather than worrying to worry about different subjects.

This weekend also means large amounts of relatives will be visiting campus and descending on the Chiles Center for the ceremony featuring an address from the Honorable Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain, a member of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, valedictory words from Valedictorian Sean Frederick, and procession lasting up to 35 minutes according to UP’s Commencement page.

Among those waiting for 35 minutes are those who received graduation tickets.  Each graduate receives six general admission tickets for family and friends. Some graduates use their entire allotment; others sell their excess to those who need more. Either way the Chiles Center will receive one final influx of people for the 2010-2011 school year.

Not only do students' families attend graduation, but professors do as well. “I always attend graduation. It is very rewarding to see your students graduate – particularly when it is someone who you have taught in several classes since their first year, and you have seen their development,” Philosophy professor James Baillie said.

Professors are with students their whole college career, some since their freshman year. “It's like watching your own children grow up and mature before your own eyes. It's very rewarding to see my student’s blossom from "clueless"/"deer-in-the-headlights" freshmen into mature, confident adults at commencement, ready to take on the world. I am very proud of them, indeed," School of Engineering professor Peter Osterberg said.

“It’s sort of sad to see them graduate but it beats hell out of the alternative,” Environmental Science department chair and professor Steve Kolmes said.

Regardless of their future plans, those graduating have beaten the alternative.

Right photo: Clockwise: Sara Jackman '11, Alex Dowling '11, Dustin Matinkhah '11 Erik Oreschak '11, Kassi McCluskie '12
Left photo: Top: Rachael Hartz '11, Emily Rizzo '11, Kamuri Yeh '11. Bottom: Kim Troy '11, Madeleine Sweet '11, Caty Walsh '11

Graduate School Commencement will start at 1pm Saturday, May 7th and Undergraduate Commencement will start at 2pm Sunday, May 8th.
 
We asked six seniors who is in their six, what graduation means to them and one of their most memorable moments from their four years.

New Points System, New Problems

The New Points System: A Worthwhile Change?
This school year, Bon Appétit gave the Commons a long awaited face lift and added a new section to the dining hall. Besides aesthetic changes, Bon Appétit also made several radical structural changes. Now, two semesters later, it is time to reflect on the new meal system.

Bauccio Commons

Left over points: What are students doing with them?
With the end of the semester drawing nearer, a strange phenomenon has developed: students have too many meal points, and they're doing anything they can to get rid of them. After all, points are a direct representation of money that is supposed to be spent before the year is over—money that cannot be refunded or applied to the upcoming year.

While not all students are experiencing the need to put their meal points to good use, others have been getting creative.

Students have been “shopping” at the Commons and The Cove, purchasing large amounts of grocery items at once, causing inventory issues and a bit of frustration for employees.

“First of all, they’re bringing in equipment that doesn’t belong to them, and with how busy we are, there just isn’t space. It also becomes a fire hazard,” Kirk Mustain, General Manager of Bon Appétit, said. “I’m not opposed to people spending their money any way they can, but we need to find mechanisms other than shopping carts.”

Instead of buying mass amounts of food, other students have been using their leftover points for more charitable causes.

Kenna Hall dorm room

Twila Silvia, a long-time devoted employee in the Commons, has seen firsthand the effects of the new system, especially compared with years past. And when it comes to spending, she agrees that students should put their money to better use than purchasing extra soda and candy.

“I think they could be more effective in how they use their money,” Silvia said. She went on to say she admired the students who donated their points to greater causes.

For example, Freshman Brett Boeh gathered students from her dorm who also had extra points and wound up accumulating 4000 points worth of food. She and her friends then took that food downtown and donated it to the homeless.

“When we looked at our balance, we realized that there was something wrong with the system,” Boeh said. “And in the end, our families weren't too bummed with the way our points were spent.”

Through the E-Scholars program, Junior Kurt Berning and a friend started a non-profit called Global ADE, an organization that helps build and strengthen education in Cambodia.

The Cove

They wanted to host a student fundraiser, but realizing that students typically don’t have thousands of dollars to donate, they decided to fundraise meal points. Their goal was raise at least 2,500 points in the first week.

They surpassed that goal in the first day.

After one week of sitting at a booth in the Commons, they collected over 25,000 points, which attests to just how many students have remaining.


After talking with several other UP students, all of whom have hundreds of leftover points with a week left in the semester, the feeling was the same: something is wrong with the system.




Myth Uncovered
The popular game "Telephone" is notorious for creating mixed messages through word of mouth. Essentially, that’s what happened after a conversation Kirk Mustain had with a student.

Kirk Mustain

The myth on campus is that there is a limit to how much a student can spend per day.

Quite simply, it is not true.

“What we were talking about was the fact that we only have so much storage space and we only get a limited supply of items, and that we might need to think of a limit so that we can have pop available to everyone on campus,” Mustain said. “That conversation took off and about a day and a half later I had parents calling me up.”

So is the myth put to rest?

Bauccio Commons

Mustain went on ASUP President Colin Dorwart’s Facebook page on the morning of April 15th and wrote, “Hey Colin, could you spread the word on campus that there will not be any spending cap at the end of this term.. Maybe that will stop my phone from blowing up with calls...Thx.”

“I figured he had like 1800 friends, so if I put it on there, everybody would see it,” Mustain said. Many of Dorwart’s 1,829 Facebook friends are in fact UP students.

Through word of mouth without misinterpretations, hopefully this myth will be put to rest.

Price Comparisons

The high costs of eating at the Commons may lead some students to move off campus earlier than they had originally planned.

Bon Appétit’s grocery items are of high quality, but students do not have the option of buying non-organic products at a lower price. With Fred Meyer only half a mile away, the convenience factor of dining on campus may be losing its appeal.

"I don't really want to have a meal plan anymore," Sophomore Lisa Nims said. "I know that I can cook for myself and it will be a lot cheaper."

While Fred Meyer prices show cheaper, non-organic products, this chart represents that it is much easier to save money by moving off campus than by staying on campus. This cost difference may be a contributing factor when students are deciding on their living situations.

The Future of the Commons
Despite the struggle to achieve satisfaction among both students and the system, the Commons and the meal plan may be in for another potential upgrade.

Bauccio Commons

On a positive note, the new meal system has been successful in providing more food options for students, as well as reducing waste. Understandably, complete satisfaction among a large population is a challenge, but the Commons assures that it does have the students’ interest in mind.

“I think there’s room for improvement. This is a learning year for us, so we’ll take what we’ve learned this year and move forward,” Mustain said.

Catering to the 1,800 plus population on campus is Mustain’s challenge as the general manager. And as a parent with a child on campus, he wants to see his dollar used effectively as well.

“There’s definitely some kind of need for a convenience store model here on campus,” Mustain said.
He’s looking into providing students with items to purchase so they don’t have to travel to Fred Meyer or Safeway.

Bauccio Commons

In addition to potential new features in the Commons, next year’s meal plans will also include a smaller option of $1,200.

“I’m hoping that people will buy an appropriate meal plan for themselves,” Mustain said. “If you’re not using your dollars, you should buy the smallest one.”

When it comes to the new meal plan system, it’s important for students to remember that improvements often come through constructive criticism. Therefore, students should continue to voice their opinions and address the issues they want to see changed.


Story written by: Gaona Yang, Marit Tegelaar.
Chart by: Marit Tegelaar.
Video, pictures, and editing by: Hannah Schultz.