HILLSDALE, MI (WTVB) – Despite objections from the local health department, Hillsdale College will be going ahead with in-person commencement ceremonies Saturday.
Hillsdale College originally planned on holding commencement May 9, but postponed it to July 18 due to the ongoing COVID-19 threat. Admission to Saturday’s commencement ceremony is by ticket only and it is closed to the public and members of the press.
Hillsdale College sent almost all of its students home when it closed its campus in mid-April due to the COVID-19 threat. But now, an estimated 2,600 students, family members, and guests are expected for the large-scale commencement ceremony.
The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency is not happy with the plan, with health officer Rebecca Burns telling the Hillsdale Daily News that a mass influx of people from various regions of the country coming into Hillsdale risks widespread community exposure.
“It just puts the Hillsdale community at increased risk,” she said. “I would assume these people are staying in our hotels and eating in our restaurants and potentially visiting our stores, so all of that puts people that work and live in Hillsdale at increased risk.”
Burns says while the health department has been working with Hillsdale College on plans to reopen for fall classes, Tuesday was the first time she was personally informed of its decision to go through with this weekend’s graduation activities.
Hillsdale College officials say in preparing for the rescheduled event, they undertook a number of precautions that “either meet or exceed those recommended by the World Health Organization.”
The ceremony itself will take place outdoors in pre-positioned seating where social distancing can take place.
Among the many precautions the college is taking, all attendees will be screened for COVID-19 symptoms and have their temperatures checked. Masks will be required in compliance with Gov. Whitmer’s latest Executive Order. In collaboration with Hillsdale Hospital, health stations will be located on-site and staffed by nurses to help with any health concerns that arise.
Hillsdale College is among the first colleges in the region to hold an in-person commencement. Nearby Adrian College rescheduled its commencement to October 4, to take place during its homecoming week, and Jackson College scrapped its planned May 2 graduation entirely.
Tom Conner, a retired Hillsdale history professor, will deliver the commencement address. It will be titled, “The World Hasn’t Changed,” according to the Hillsdale Collegian, the college’s student newspaper.
