With Spring 2022 Commencement being pushed back, seniors at Binghamton University are now tasked with reworking their original graduation plans.

Over winter break, BU announced in a Dec. 23 B-Line News Addition that the start of spring semester classes would be delayed by one week, following a rise of COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant. As a result, Commencement followed suit, and will now be held from May 20 to May 22.

Many seniors have voiced concerns about the new dates for the 2022 Commencement, as their families have had to reschedule hotel accommodations. Others, particularly students living in Binghamton’s West Side, have to extend their leases, which were set to expire right before Commencement begins. On BU’s Commencement website, a note has been added encouraging families to make “refundable” reservations.

The new Commencement schedule has the Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences and graduate students participating first on May 20. Harpur College of Arts and Sciences follows with their ceremonies on May 21, and the Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science, the College of Community and Public Affairs and the School of Management are the last to have their ceremonies on May 22.

Ryan Yarosh, senior director of media and public relations, called upon students to remain open to changes amid the pandemic.

“Our plans during the COVID-19 pandemic have had to remain fluid and as a result we have always encouraged our students and families to bear with us and remain flexible,” Yarosh wrote in an email. “Our planned events have been subject to changes for the past two years because of the pandemic and state and SUNY requirements that sometimes force us to change schedules as well as operational plans. Also, there are still hotels taking reservations, so we aren’t aware that any families are without accommodations.”

Abby Goldberg, a senior majoring in integrative neuroscience, said she is no longer participating in her Commencement ceremony.

“I had to extend my lease by two weeks,” Goldberg said. “Luckily my landlord is really great and didn’t charge me anything, but I don’t want to be in [Binghamton] any longer. Because of the change in plans, I’m just going to get dinner with my family and not participate in the Commencement ceremony.”

Goldberg said she believes that other seniors are also frustrated about the weeklong delay of Commencement.

“I know a lot of my friends who are seniors just want to be done already,” Goldberg said. “COVID-19 has turned college into something that is no longer enjoyable in any sense and we all feel it. I know many of us are upset to be here any longer, even if just for a week.”

Anna Dennett, a sophomore majoring in chemistry, said her family is now conflicted as her sister — a graduate student — now has Commencement during the same weekend as her brother, who is graduating from a different school.

“My family is just overall annoyed,” Dennett said. “I have a huge family and we had hotel rooms booked already way in advance. My brother graduates at 2 p.m. on Saturday and my sister graduates at noon on Sunday, so it’s just a big pressure now to be on time and to see both my siblings graduate. I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to go to both now.”

Dennett said the University should do more to accommodate seniors amid the schedule change.

“I think BU should assist families with hotels because they get so crazy booked up, or provide students whose lease ends with accommodations until graduation,” Dennett said. “I just wish they didn’t move it in the first place. It probably displaced so many people and not just seniors, but also sophomores and juniors off campus.”

Zack Trolley, a senior majoring in biology, said Commencement being pushed back creates yet another nuisance for seniors.

“I feel that [this] can be an issue because some housing requires you to be out on a certain day and are not really flexible about granting extensions,” Trolley said. “It also adds more to the stresses [students] experience at the end of the semester. Where are people supposed to go if their lease expires and they get kicked out to prep for new tenants?”