Michael Oltmann said he hopes a petition to change the School of Law graduation date will increase the chances that his father can be in the audience.
Oltmann is one of 88 third-year law students who signed a petition delivered to university administrators such as the SIU Board of Trustees, SIU President Glenn Poshard, interim Chancellor Sam Goldman and Law School Dean Peter Alexander. The petition calls for the administrators to change the SIU School of Law's graduation date from Thursday, May 7 to the following Saturday.
Lance Camp, who organized the petition, said the motion has received support from 85 percent of the class.
Camp said he has a message for administrators.
"I understand this is a bad situation, and you've found the best option in your opinion, but it is not good enough," he said. "I don't think we're asking for anything unreasonable."
In past years, all of the spring graduation ceremonies were held at Shryock Auditorium or SIU Arena during a weekend in May. But because Saluki Way renovations will make the arena inaccessible this year, graduation coordinators have said they were forced to expand the ceremonies into Thursday and Friday.
Oltmann, originally from New Douglass, said in a letter to Goldman that the Thursday graduation date could prevent his father, a pipefitter, from attending the ceremony.
"He doesn't get paid if he doesn't show up to work," Oltmann said. "Especially with the downturn in the economy, I don't think it's fair that he be asked to skip a day of work to come watch me graduate."
Goldman said other venues, including the Williamson County Pavilion in Marion, Student Center ballrooms and Carbondale Community High School auditorium were considered. He said variables such as seating capacity, parking availability and cost prevented coordinators from pursuing those alternatives.
Goldman said he also wanted to keep all of the ceremonies on campus.
Oltmann and Camp said they respect the chancellor's position about cost, but said having commencement on campus was unnecessary.
Oltmann said he suggests administrators reconsider the smaller venues, and limit students to the number of people they could invite to the ceremony. He said a similar system was implemented when he received his bachelor's degree at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.
The schedule of Saturday commencements shows that ceremonies begin at 8:30 a.m. and end nearly 12 hours later. Camp said the students wanted a time that was not too early or late, but did not have a specific time in mind.
Daily Egyptian reporter Barton Lorimor can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 263 or barton.lorimor@siude.com.
