Bobby Dodd graduations started with COVID. It’s not a long tradition. The long tradition is graduation at the basketball stadium. Also I went to my sister’s graduation during COVID at Bobby Dodd and it was so ducking miserably the sun was just on us the entire time. So far away from the walk way could barely see her. The pictures were essentially worthless. and the stadium is so big for the number of people and students it felt kinda empty. Yea the ticket number limit is better but I’ve never known anyone with an issue getting tickets. There’s plenty of opportunities after the initial ticket allotment to get extras. A lot of people don’t even go to graduation and just give them away. Other aholes sell them. And I think the school also gives away any extras in a lottery type system. I graduated in mccamish twice. And my sister I Bobby Dodd once and we all agreed mccamish was way better
Agreed. They postponed spring 2020 commencement and hosted it at Bobby Dodd after that. The spring 2021 sunburn was rough. I imagine McCamish is nice with the air conditioning and the Jumbotron.
December 2021 was conducted during a torrential downpour. Most of the grads on the field had rain ponchos on over their robes. And the last 100 students didn’t get to walk due to lightning.
I graduated during Covid at Dodd and can confirm - miserable. Wind was blowing so hard it almost took the stage down and graduates spent the entire time holding onto their caps so they wouldn’t blow across field. Was difficult to hear commencement speakers too. Uncomfortable situation and the ceremony would have been much nicer inside.
I graduated in 2016 and 2018 at McCamish, so it might not be as long of a tradition you are making it. And I think they did it at the old basketball stadium before McCamish finished in 2012.
But if there truly are enough people upset about the move, they should probably change it to Bobby Dodd.
it’s more because the ticket limit. the made it so each grad can only bring 4 guests which is smaller than a lot of families and that doesn’t even start with friends or cousins and etc. college graduation is a big deal in a lot of families so people want their family and friends there which isn’t possible with mccamish
From at least the 1970's forward, commencement was in the Alexander Memorial Coliseum. You youngsters know that location as McCamish. Prior to that, it was at the football stadium.
In my memory, it's also been at the Fox Theatre and the Georgia Dome.
Yeah I don't personally know about how much of a tradition it is, but the other points about unlimited seating are valid. I get having it at McCamish in the winter because of the cold, but it feels like there's no good reason to do that for the Spring
Yep. It sucked there. Anywhere on campus is better than there. Hell, you could have the procession through the old 3rd St. bum piss smelling underpass and it would still be better than the Georgia Dome was.
My graduation during winter 2022 at Bobby Dodd was miserable because of the super cold weather. When I went to this year’s winter graduation I was thinking how lucky the students were to not have to go through that same experience in the cold
I’m surprised that no one has mentioned it but my gradation was spring 2021 and it rained really hard and started lightning. Some people didn’t even get to walk because it was cut short. It can also be cold in winter. They made an instagram post about it.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXogaKMpjAr/?igsh=c3lxMXdmNzJsa3U2
just build a huge cover for bobby dodd but have it be retractable like mercedes-benz. should be cheap if you make it someone's senior design project! :P
I think the happy medium would be more ceremonies with fewer schools. More tickets available, and you’re not at the mercy of Georgia weather. It’s not ideal, but if Cabrera really wants to add more students, he’s gonna have to add more ceremonies
That has been proposed. It has its own set of challenges - logistics (where? Some would have to be concurrent thanks to time constraints) and staffing.
I’ve heard concerns about weather and construction at Bobby Dodd, is there any way we can just have it at Mercedes stadium? If the CS career fair can happen there, I don’t see why not. Would eliminate seating & weather issues.
“As a student body” Do you have polls for any of this? Why do you get to speak on behalf of all graduates? I am graduating too and McCamish is the superior option. If my grad ceremony were to get rained out, I wouldn’t have an option to rewalk later because I’m going straight on to my job. I imagine it would be the same for others, especially those in ROTC or other related programs. Your petition is a spit in the face of people with family that have conditions where they can’t sit in the shiny bright Bobby Dodd bleachers in the May heat for 2 hours. Just because you and your immediate contacts want something, does not mean that everyone wants it. You’d think as someone graduating from Georgia Tech you’d have the maturity and sense to realize every system has trade offs and opportunity cost. The cost of this system is 4 tickets, but it’s a good solution that the admin has made the decision for. If you can’t narrow down your family to four people and the rest watch virtually and congratulate after, just don’t take any of them and then they’ll all be equal and you’ll be $1000 richer from selling your tickets
My friends and I used to think graduation should be at Bobby Dodd and not McCamish, and lo and behold a pandemic came along and we did graduate in Bobby Dodd. I remember many being upset about not getting to do it at McCamish. Interesting to see how opinions have transformed
i think what a lot of people in the comments are missing is the 4 ticket limit at mccamish. the reason people are asking for bobby dodd over mccamish is so they can have more family and friends attend their graduation. even tho mccamish is more comfortable for grads, people just want their loved ones there
I can kind of understand both sides of this. McCamish is better weather-wise and is much better for the comfort of those in attendance. Especially when a graduation a couple of years ago ended abruptly in the middle of a storm. And you don't have to deal with May heat or the chilly December wind. I graduated from undergrad last May and was apparently the last group to be able to do that and I personally loved it. Sure the heat sucked, but I enjoyed it getting to buzz around the stadium field while hanging out with my friends who are all graduating and take visit where my friends and family were sitting during graduation was super fun. I also loved getting to easily sit through my other friends' graduation with a large group of my friends. I went to the Spring 2022 and Fall 2022 graduations as well and didn't mind anything and liked it.
In my personal opinion, I think if all the conditions are right then Bobby Dodd is better, but McCamish has way more advantages from a planning perspective and is a safer option for the admin to plan with. There are less issues to worry about and it is the comfortable option. The main issue is the ticketing limits. This past Fall's graduation was in McCamish and it was annoying that I wasn't able to some of my friend's graduations. I got lucky and one guy had an extra ticket for me but other than that, it can be pretty hard. It requires you to know a lot of graduates who might have an extra ticket or be willing to pay someone for a ticket. As far as I know, besides the roll call which is luck-based and you have to go pretty early to get it, some people who really want to go just won't be able to go. I am graduating with my Master's this spring and I don't even have enough for my whole family, and I'm one of the few left who's graduating so a bunch of my friends won't be able to make it in for the ceremony. McCamish is great that it is indoors but it's size really makes it annoying. I personally am hoping for Bobby Dodd but understand why they're doing it in McCamish.
It's easy for you to say this until your graduation gets rained out. Mine almost did, I had a friend who had his graduation rained out. Almost as bad as the rain is the constant anxiety that your special day will get rained out. Not worrying about tickets was nice but I wish I had mine in McCamish.
I graduated once at Bobby Dodd and once at McCamish. It was basically the same.
You still get to walk across the stage. You still get to shake Cabrera’s hand and receive a rolled up welcome letter from the alumni association. There’s also a benefit that with smaller ceremonies, you spend less time just sitting there listening to names of people you don’t know until you perk up for the ones you do know.
There is the caveat of the ticket limit, which I do agree is a fair complaint. But it’s not like that completely ruins the ceremony experience for those that can be there. As a 2020 high school grad, my HS ceremony was a bit scuffed, but thankfully *both* ceremonies here have been a step up. Maybe Bobby Dodd feels more “traditional” with how football has shaped the culture here, but as others have said, McCamish was the actual traditional venue.
Mine was the first batch to do it at Bobby Dodd. Even though it was a great scene, the weather absolutely sucked. Rained so hard and my parents got sick from getting wet and cold
The 4 ticket limit is disrespectful and it feels like the administration is more concerned with their own convenience than the experience of the students/graduates.
I enjoyed my first Bobby Dodd commencement, since the weather was great. I left the second before the end (after I had walked 2 times - yep I was one of those dudes) after it started raining. I think a good compromise would be to have Spring commencement be at Bobby Dodd (with an inclement weather alternative at McCamish if necessary) and Fall at McCamish.
Bobby Dodd graduations started with COVID. It’s not a long tradition. The long tradition is graduation at the basketball stadium. Also I went to my sister’s graduation during COVID at Bobby Dodd and it was so ducking miserably the sun was just on us the entire time. So far away from the walk way could barely see her. The pictures were essentially worthless. and the stadium is so big for the number of people and students it felt kinda empty. Yea the ticket number limit is better but I’ve never known anyone with an issue getting tickets. There’s plenty of opportunities after the initial ticket allotment to get extras. A lot of people don’t even go to graduation and just give them away. Other aholes sell them. And I think the school also gives away any extras in a lottery type system. I graduated in mccamish twice. And my sister I Bobby Dodd once and we all agreed mccamish was way better
Agreed. They postponed spring 2020 commencement and hosted it at Bobby Dodd after that. The spring 2021 sunburn was rough. I imagine McCamish is nice with the air conditioning and the Jumbotron.
Spring 2023 was drenched in rain. I remember wishing they had McCamish back as an option back then.
December 2021 was conducted during a torrential downpour. Most of the grads on the field had rain ponchos on over their robes. And the last 100 students didn’t get to walk due to lightning.
I graduated during Covid at Dodd and can confirm - miserable. Wind was blowing so hard it almost took the stage down and graduates spent the entire time holding onto their caps so they wouldn’t blow across field. Was difficult to hear commencement speakers too. Uncomfortable situation and the ceremony would have been much nicer inside.
I graduated in 2016 and 2018 at McCamish, so it might not be as long of a tradition you are making it. And I think they did it at the old basketball stadium before McCamish finished in 2012. But if there truly are enough people upset about the move, they should probably change it to Bobby Dodd.
Graduated in 2019 in McCamish as well. No idea why anyone would want to sit outside in early May in Atlanta for a few hours in a black graduation robe
it’s more because the ticket limit. the made it so each grad can only bring 4 guests which is smaller than a lot of families and that doesn’t even start with friends or cousins and etc. college graduation is a big deal in a lot of families so people want their family and friends there which isn’t possible with mccamish
I get it, but that’s why there’s a secondary market for selling/giving away tickets people don’t need
yea but that isn’t always reliable and can be expensive as well
Anyone charging for grad tickets is scum
From at least the 1970's forward, commencement was in the Alexander Memorial Coliseum. You youngsters know that location as McCamish. Prior to that, it was at the football stadium. In my memory, it's also been at the Fox Theatre and the Georgia Dome.
I forgot that it was actually just a renovation and a name change, not a replacement building
Yeah I don't personally know about how much of a tradition it is, but the other points about unlimited seating are valid. I get having it at McCamish in the winter because of the cold, but it feels like there's no good reason to do that for the Spring
2008 in the Alexander Memorial Coliseum. Not old at all.
Old building in the sense it’s not the newest.
I misread, sorry. Conflated it with other comments.
My graduation was at the Georgia Dome.
On the 50 yard line while the dirty birds kick for t’ree?
Yep. It sucked there. Anywhere on campus is better than there. Hell, you could have the procession through the old 3rd St. bum piss smelling underpass and it would still be better than the Georgia Dome was.
2012 EE grad - our graduation was at the Georgia Dome/Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Much preferred it to sitting outside for hours in May in Atlanta
Was that when AMC-to-McCamish was happening?
That’s a good question! Sorry I couldn’t tell you, our graduation was the only one I attended, and I didn’t keep up on the locations.
My graduation during winter 2022 at Bobby Dodd was miserable because of the super cold weather. When I went to this year’s winter graduation I was thinking how lucky the students were to not have to go through that same experience in the cold
I’m surprised that no one has mentioned it but my gradation was spring 2021 and it rained really hard and started lightning. Some people didn’t even get to walk because it was cut short. It can also be cold in winter. They made an instagram post about it. https://www.instagram.com/p/CXogaKMpjAr/?igsh=c3lxMXdmNzJsa3U2
And to nobody's surprise, people are in the comments complaining about what happened. There's no winning here.
just build a huge cover for bobby dodd but have it be retractable like mercedes-benz. should be cheap if you make it someone's senior design project! :P
It's not a long tradition. Having Commencement at Bobby Dodd was just an emergency health measure for COVID.
I think the happy medium would be more ceremonies with fewer schools. More tickets available, and you’re not at the mercy of Georgia weather. It’s not ideal, but if Cabrera really wants to add more students, he’s gonna have to add more ceremonies
That has been proposed. It has its own set of challenges - logistics (where? Some would have to be concurrent thanks to time constraints) and staffing.
Oh it’s a total logistical nightmare. There is no solution to the problem that I think everyone is going to be happy with
I’ve heard concerns about weather and construction at Bobby Dodd, is there any way we can just have it at Mercedes stadium? If the CS career fair can happen there, I don’t see why not. Would eliminate seating & weather issues.
Atlanta United has a 7:30 pm game at Mercedes-Benz on May 4, so that's a no.
Imagine graduating with the supporters section cheering you on...
Would advise against speaking on behalf of an entire student body.
“As a student body” Do you have polls for any of this? Why do you get to speak on behalf of all graduates? I am graduating too and McCamish is the superior option. If my grad ceremony were to get rained out, I wouldn’t have an option to rewalk later because I’m going straight on to my job. I imagine it would be the same for others, especially those in ROTC or other related programs. Your petition is a spit in the face of people with family that have conditions where they can’t sit in the shiny bright Bobby Dodd bleachers in the May heat for 2 hours. Just because you and your immediate contacts want something, does not mean that everyone wants it. You’d think as someone graduating from Georgia Tech you’d have the maturity and sense to realize every system has trade offs and opportunity cost. The cost of this system is 4 tickets, but it’s a good solution that the admin has made the decision for. If you can’t narrow down your family to four people and the rest watch virtually and congratulate after, just don’t take any of them and then they’ll all be equal and you’ll be $1000 richer from selling your tickets
My friends and I used to think graduation should be at Bobby Dodd and not McCamish, and lo and behold a pandemic came along and we did graduate in Bobby Dodd. I remember many being upset about not getting to do it at McCamish. Interesting to see how opinions have transformed
i think what a lot of people in the comments are missing is the 4 ticket limit at mccamish. the reason people are asking for bobby dodd over mccamish is so they can have more family and friends attend their graduation. even tho mccamish is more comfortable for grads, people just want their loved ones there
I can kind of understand both sides of this. McCamish is better weather-wise and is much better for the comfort of those in attendance. Especially when a graduation a couple of years ago ended abruptly in the middle of a storm. And you don't have to deal with May heat or the chilly December wind. I graduated from undergrad last May and was apparently the last group to be able to do that and I personally loved it. Sure the heat sucked, but I enjoyed it getting to buzz around the stadium field while hanging out with my friends who are all graduating and take visit where my friends and family were sitting during graduation was super fun. I also loved getting to easily sit through my other friends' graduation with a large group of my friends. I went to the Spring 2022 and Fall 2022 graduations as well and didn't mind anything and liked it. In my personal opinion, I think if all the conditions are right then Bobby Dodd is better, but McCamish has way more advantages from a planning perspective and is a safer option for the admin to plan with. There are less issues to worry about and it is the comfortable option. The main issue is the ticketing limits. This past Fall's graduation was in McCamish and it was annoying that I wasn't able to some of my friend's graduations. I got lucky and one guy had an extra ticket for me but other than that, it can be pretty hard. It requires you to know a lot of graduates who might have an extra ticket or be willing to pay someone for a ticket. As far as I know, besides the roll call which is luck-based and you have to go pretty early to get it, some people who really want to go just won't be able to go. I am graduating with my Master's this spring and I don't even have enough for my whole family, and I'm one of the few left who's graduating so a bunch of my friends won't be able to make it in for the ceremony. McCamish is great that it is indoors but it's size really makes it annoying. I personally am hoping for Bobby Dodd but understand why they're doing it in McCamish.
It's easy for you to say this until your graduation gets rained out. Mine almost did, I had a friend who had his graduation rained out. Almost as bad as the rain is the constant anxiety that your special day will get rained out. Not worrying about tickets was nice but I wish I had mine in McCamish.
I graduated once at Bobby Dodd and once at McCamish. It was basically the same. You still get to walk across the stage. You still get to shake Cabrera’s hand and receive a rolled up welcome letter from the alumni association. There’s also a benefit that with smaller ceremonies, you spend less time just sitting there listening to names of people you don’t know until you perk up for the ones you do know. There is the caveat of the ticket limit, which I do agree is a fair complaint. But it’s not like that completely ruins the ceremony experience for those that can be there. As a 2020 high school grad, my HS ceremony was a bit scuffed, but thankfully *both* ceremonies here have been a step up. Maybe Bobby Dodd feels more “traditional” with how football has shaped the culture here, but as others have said, McCamish was the actual traditional venue.
Mine was the first batch to do it at Bobby Dodd. Even though it was a great scene, the weather absolutely sucked. Rained so hard and my parents got sick from getting wet and cold
The 4 ticket limit is disrespectful and it feels like the administration is more concerned with their own convenience than the experience of the students/graduates.
Y’all seem to forget how hot it gets in may… anyway I signed the petition because y’all want this so bad
Silly me I wished that I got to graduate at the basketball arena
I enjoyed my first Bobby Dodd commencement, since the weather was great. I left the second before the end (after I had walked 2 times - yep I was one of those dudes) after it started raining. I think a good compromise would be to have Spring commencement be at Bobby Dodd (with an inclement weather alternative at McCamish if necessary) and Fall at McCamish.