The Transcript
Boston University’s 148th Commencement looked like none before it. City and state pandemic protocols and the need for social distancing resulted in the annual All-University Commencement being split into two ceremonies this year, one for advanced degree graduates in the morning and one for bachelor’s degree grads in the afternoon, with grounds crew sanitizing on Nickerson Field between the two.
No festivities and no guests meant that most of the approximately 175 usual events leading up to Commencement were either canceled or held virtually, including the various school diploma convocations. And because only students could attend the in-person ceremonies, not surprisingly, a record number of people tuned in to watch the proceedings via live stream: as of Wednesday, 36,352 plays had been recorded—a whopping 871.19 percent increase over 2019, when the University was last able to celebrate graduation (the Commencement ceremony for 2020 grads will be held in October 2021).