By Anthony Covino
Sports Editor
The university will be moving forward with plans to hold commencement at Metlife Stadium this spring.
“We are pleased to announce that due to the recent easing of restrictions at outdoor stadiums and arenas in New Jersey, plans are moving forward to hold Commencement for the Class of 2021 in person at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J,” said Vidal Lopez, dean of students of the Metropolitan campus, in an email.
“Due to the reduced capacity and social distancing measures that must be in place, the Class of 2021 Commencement, including graduates from the Florham and Metropolitan campuses, will be held over several in-person ceremonies on Monday, May 17, and Tuesday, May 18,” Lopez added.
All graduates will be limited to four guests that will be seated in the same family pod. Each graduate will have their name read and will walk across the stage and be recognized in front of their families and friends.
In addition, the school plans to hold a separate ceremony for the Class of 2020, based on the number of responses they have received from graduates.
“There is also the possibility that the Class of 2020 Commencement may be split into two or three events. The planned date is either Tuesday, May 18, or Wednesday, May 19, and the exact time is still to be determined,” Lopez said via the FDU Website
Each graduate’s exact date and time will be determined once the university knows how many people will attend.
The graduation will also be streamed live for those who are unable to attend commencement.
Graduates must complete a form to fill out by 5 p.m. on March 26 in order to attend the ceremony and will receive follow up information within a few weeks. This includes ceremony details, instructions to order cap and gowns, and a link to Ticketmaster to register your guests for tickets. Tickets are free, and guests are required to have them once they enter MetLife Stadium on Commencement day.
“MetLife Stadium has a capacity of more than 82,000 as the current New Jersey Restrictions only allow up to 15 percent total capacity for an event. For our event, we are working closely with MetLife Stadium to assure that health and safety guidelines are closely followed. We are limited to how many graduates we can seat on the field with adequate social distancing. MetLife is only allowing 3,000 attendees in the stands in order to provide adequate social distancing according to the CDC and state guidelines”, Angelo Carfagna added.
Many questions arise with how many people will be able to attend on each day? How will the seating work in the stadium for guests and graduates? The Equinox will continue to report on this.
Stay tuned for more daily news updates tomorrow at 10 a.m.
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Photo courtesy of Metlife Stadium.
