More than 2,500 graduates triumphantly crossed the stage Thursday at the University of Massachusetts Boston’s commencement ceremony, completing a turbulent four years disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Anticipation filled the air on Columbia Point as early as 8 a.m.
, when family and friends of the graduates began filling up the folding chairs overlooking Boston Harbor. The ceremony began around 9 a.m.
under a cloudy sky, but as graduates processed down the white steps to the stage, the sun emerged from behind the clouds to sparkle on the water. Hipolito Garcia, 53, snapped a picture of the harbor and the stage, admiring the view before his youngest daughter, Caroline, crossed the stage. Advertisement “It’s beautiful,” said Garcia, who is from the Dominican Republic.
“I’m very proud.” While other area schools, which have been roiled by protests of the Israel-Hamas war, experienced disruptions during their commencement ceremonies, UMass Boston’s ceremony proceeded without interruption. A few dozen graduates wore keffiyeh scarves, others had stoles showing the Palestinian flag, and some wrote “Free Palestine” on their graduation caps.
But the vast majority of graduates wore stoles with flags from an array of countries, a testament to the diversity of student backgrounds. Graduates hail from more than 130 countries and nearly 60 percent of students are the first in their families to attend college, said the university’s chan.
