For the class of 2016, graduation is right around the corner. On June 16, in just ten days, five hundred and eight seniors will walk across the stage and receive their diplomas. In years past, this ceremony has traditionally been held at the Arie Crowne Theater, inside of McCormick Place. This year, the venue for graduation has changed, and seniors will be walking across the stage at the Lyric Opera House. This change in venue has met with mixed emotions.

When a seasoned Whitney Young graduation veteran, Cathy Platt, heard about the switch of location, she was puzzled.

“I’ve been to three other Whitney Young Graduations in the past 7 years, two for my two other daughters, and one for my nephew. All three were at McCormick Place and they were just lovely. It was great because the theater was so large, there was plenty of room to mill about and take pictures. My biggest concern about graduation being at the Lyric Opera House is parking. There’s nowhere to park down there. I wonder why they decided to change it.”   

In response to Mrs. Platt’s and many other parents’ question, Ms. Felicia Clotworthy, Dean of Students/Senior Class Adviser at Whitney M. Young explained,

“Every year we are basically “penciled” in with the McCormick place to use the Arie Crowne Theater. However, if another event that is larger (I think there is a massive city-wide convention this year) happens to requires the space during the time of our booking, then our school can be arbitrarily bumped off the McCormick Place’s calendar.”

According to Ms. Clotworthy, this is not the first time in her eighteen years at Whitney M. Young that there has been a relocation for graduation. In 1997, graduation was at the UIC Pavilion, and in 2007 it was at the Lyric Opera House. According to administration, there is a good chance that the class 2017 will graduate at the Lyric Opera House as well.

To contrast to parents’ viewpoint on the issue, students seem to be a bit more optimistic. According to Julia Vick ‘16, “I’m really excited to walk across the stage at the Lyric Opera House. It is such a beautiful place and when else are we going to get this opportunity?”

Congrats to the class of 2016!