Campus & community, Campus news, Events at Berkeley

The longest procession: Five full days, 6,400 graduates, one at a time

From Sunday to Thursday this week, COVID-era graduates, with no in-person ceremonies, are walking in regalia across the Greek Theatre stage

By Gretchen Kell

In her regalia, colorful stoles and a lei, ASUC President and new Berkeley graduate Victoria Vera gives a thumbs-up after participating in the procession. — ASUC President and new Berkeley graduate Victoria Vera gives a thumbs-up after participating in the procession. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

May 18, 2021

The Greek Theatre seats are empty, but the stage is decorated with flags and flowers for graduates to enjoy as they receive a scroll and congrats from a campus leader

Its seats may be empty, but the Greek Theatre is busy for five days this week as more than 6,400 graduates cross its stage one at a time — 30 every 10 minutes — during the pandemic, savoring their only chance to wear regalia, receive a scroll and be congratulated by a campus leader. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

If you get nostalgic, or your spirit soars, hearing Sir Edward Elgar’s processional, “Pomp and Circumstance,” it’s been playing more than 10 hours a day since Sunday at UC Berkeley’s Greek Theatre and will continue through Thursday.

Why? Check out the livestreamed, five-day, in-person procession of 2021 Berkeley graduates that the campus devised — the idea was rapidly copied by other schools — to give students what they said they wanted most at a pandemic-era graduation.

“In our surveys, they wanted the opportunity to walk across the stage and receive something physically tangible from an academic leader, to give them a sense of closure,” said Amy Cranch, a University Development and Alumni Relations staffer on hand Sunday morning to help guide and congratulate the first few hours’ worth of students crossing the stage.

The Class of 2021 Virtual Commencement was held on Saturday, May 15, and the following day, the optional, multi-day procession began, under chilly and gray skies, at the beloved, bowl-shaped 1903 campus amphitheater designed by John Galen Howard.

Students in brightly colored leis and stoles line up to participate in Sunday's event, the first of five days of non-stop COVID-era graduation processions at the Greek Theatre. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Graduate Eric Manzo helped straighten friend K.C. Hunt's stole before they cross the Greek Theatre stage. — Eric Manzo helps straighten K.C. Hunt's stole before they take their turns onstage. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Arrows pointing the way to the Greek Theatre stage are on the ground and also serve to social distance students during the pandemic. — Markers to keep graduates socially distanced lead the way to the Greek Theatre stage. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Graduate Telian Espanta checks his reflection in a mirror as he readies to cross the Greek Theatre stage. — Graduate Telian Espanta checks his reflection in a full-length mirror before walking across the Greek Theatre stage. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Two students prepare to cross the stage at the Greek Theatre — Senior Class Council President Megan Wiener and her friend, James Jones, who is carrying a metal eagle for — Senior Class Council President Megan Wiener and her friend James Jones, carrying Snappeagle, a gold-colored eagle he keeps for "emotional support," he said, prepare to cross the stage. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Like many graduates, Megan Wiener wore a Cal mask with her graduation garb. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

A student-decorated mortarboard, colored pink with butterflies and flowers, stood out from the crowd at the Greek Theatre procession on Sunday. — A student-decorated mortarboard stood out from the crowd at the Greek Theatre procession on Sunday. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

A student walks across the Greek Theatre stage during the five-day graduation procession. — One at a time, graduates walked across the Greek Theatre stage, which was decorated with flowers and flags in the academic hood colors. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Navneedh Maudgalya, who is graduating with a master's degree in electrical engineering and computer sciences, waves to the camera, and to his family and friends watching remotely, as he begins his walk across the Greek Theatrestage. — Navneedh Maudgalya, who is graduating with a master's degree in electrical engineering and computer sciences, waves to the camera, and to his family and friends watching remotely, as he begins his walk across the stage. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Athletic Director Jim Knowlton, wearing regalia, stands on the dais in the Greek Theatre to greet graduates as they cross the stage. — Athletic Director Jim Knowlton takes a turn greeting and clapping for graduates as they cross the stage one at a time on the first day of a five-day graduation procession at the Greek Theatre. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Anna Nguyen, a Master of Social Welfare graduate, laughs and cries as she walks across the stage during the first day of UC Berkeley's socially distanced graduation ceremony at the Greek Theater — Anna Nguyen, a Master of Social Welfare graduate, isn't sure whether to laugh and cry as she excitedly walks across the stage. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Under a tent offstage at the Greek Theatre, Elana Pereira, keeping warm in a hooded jacket, monitors the livestreamed graduation procession event. — Elana Pereira, keeping warm under a canopy in a down jacket and hooded sweatshirt, monitors the livestream just offstage at the Greek Theatre. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

A laptop at the Greek Theatre shows the livestreamed procession. — Each student was invited to provide information for a personalized slide shown to those watching the livestreamed procession. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

A mother sitting outside the gate of the Greek Theatre watches on her cell phone for the moment her daughter walks across the stage. — Berkeley alumna Dalia Dassa Kaye and her husband, David, also a Berkeley alum, traveled to Berkeley from Los Angeles and sat just outside the Greek Theatre, watching on their phones for their daughter Danielle's moment on stage. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

In their regalia and masks, friends Claire Black and Paris Sato visit with each other after the graduation procession. — First-year friends Claire Black and Paris Sato were glad they could reserve time to walk a few minutes apart from each other in the graduation procession. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

After Paris Sato exited the Greek Theatre, her mom, Karen Sakamoto, and boyfriend, Karl Keck, greeted the architecture graduate with leis brought from Hawaii by Sakamoto. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Masked family members Paris Sato and her mother, Karen Sakamoto, from Hawaii, pose for a graduation photo just outside the Greek Theatre gates. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Wearing flashy sunglasses and smiles, friends Pamela George, Yazmin Renteria, Laila Elias and Geraldine Lonsdale pose for a photo after the graduation ceremony. — Graduates (from left) Pamela George, Yazmin Renteria Sanchez, Laila Elias and Geraldine Lonsdale met during their first year at Berkeley and spent Saturday evening together, getting ready for their Greek Theatre walk on Sunday. The maskless foursome is vaccinated. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

A close-up of two students wearing smiles and fashion sunglasses at the graduation procession. — Roommates Laila Elias (left) and Geraldine Lonsdale flash smiles. fashion sunglasses and pride after the event. Elias is headed to medical school and Lonsdale to a Ph.D. program in clinical psychology.(Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Partners Charlotte Buck and Peter Lopitz pose for a photo at the Greek Theatre wearing their regalia and blue stoles. — Charlotte Buck, whose new degree is in mathematics, and Peter Alexander Lopitz, who earned a degree in data science, pose for a portrait at the Greek Theatre. They share the same social bubble. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Mike and Michelle Hanlon record on their phones the livestream of daughter Lindsey's moment on the stage. Like many other families, they sat or stood outside the Greek Theatre gates during the procession. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Michelle and Mike Hanlon are all smiles with their daughter, Lindsey, after watching her process across the Greek Theatre stage on their cell phones outside the gates. — The Hanlons, reunited outside the Greek Theatre, pose for a family photo. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

A group of close friends, all Master of Social Work graduates, pose for a photo in their stoles, masks and regalia. — A group of close friends, all Master of Social Work graduates, walked one after the other in the graduation procession. From left are Siobhan O'Grady, Ashley Reyes, Shatesha Morris, Annabelle Hufana, Anna Nguyen and Andra Ebel, (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Master in Social Welfare graduate Andria Ebel is all smiles after walking the stage at the Greek Theatre. — Master in Social Welfare graduate Andria Ebel was ecstatic, having walked the stage with her classmates in the CalSWEC Title IV-E Program at Berkeley. The program provides professional education and monetary support to social work students dedicated to the field of public child welfare. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Every 10 minutes, 30 graduates are walking — one at a time — and being videotaped across the Greek Theatre stage, most of them in regalia and beaming and waving at family and friends watching remotely. More than 6,400 students signed up for a time slot and then prepared by watching a “May 2021 Graduation Procession Do’s + Don’t’s” campus video.

COVID-19 restrictions are in force: Before entering the Greek, the graduates, masked and socially distanced, are required to display an e-badge showing they’re in campus compliance with COVID-19 testing, a negative coronavirus test result from within the last 72 hours, or a valid vaccine card.

Each graduate got the chance to create a personalized slide — name, major, photo, favorite quote or words of gratitude — that’s shown during the livestream as the student’s pre-recorded name and degree earned is read. Campus leaders, including Chancellor Carol Christ, are taking turns on stage handing each student a rolled-up certificate of participation. A printed — and downloadable — graduation booklet with the name of every student graduating is offered to participants as they exit the stage.

Graduates in regalia wait for their solo walk onto the stage at the Greek Theatre, and a dispenser of hand sanitizer is nearby..

Graduates await their solo walk onto the Greek Theatre stage, and perhaps a stop at the hand sanitizer dispenser. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Meanwhile, families and friends around the world are watching their graduates live, most of them from their homes via computer or phone; they also can view the video later. On Sunday, some relatives showed up outside the Greek Theatre’s gates, having traveled to Berkeley to huddle around their cell phones, watch their students in the procession, and then greet them in person with hugs and flowers.

Karen Sakamoto flew in from Honolulu, Hawaii, and stood just outside the amphitheater to congratulate her daughter, Paris Sato, who received a degree in architecture, and to put the colorful leis she’d brought on the plane around her neck. She admitted it was “a little heartbreaking” to not be able to sit in Memorial Stadium, as she’d once imagined, with thousands of other parents cheering on the Class of 2021, but that it was “nice to have the video.”

Rather than a cap and gown, her daughter wore her full-length white high school graduation dress, her Berkeley graduation stole and a crown of flowers from Sakamoto. Sato said she was happy students could sign up to process with their friends; some graduates hadn’t seen their classmates and former roommates in person since Berkeley switched to remote instruction in March 2020.

A student crosses the stage at the Greek Theatre wearing regalia and a colorful stole.

One at a time, students crossed the stage, where the heraldic flags, in all the academic hood colors, usually are hung from above. A forklift with two workers in close proximity is required for such a job, so this year, the flags were placed in stands. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Sato and her first-year friend, Claire Black, from Laguna Beach, chose time slots next to each other. Black, whose degree is in political science, was thrilled the event was at the Greek, saying, “it’s one of my favorite places on the planet. I used to hear concerts here for free — I heard one of Tom Petty’s last concerts here in 2017.” She’d had a job there pulling recyclables from the trash and putting them in the right bins; she’s now headed to a fellowship at the California Supreme Court headquarters in San Francisco, to work with those who can’t afford lawyers.

The theater, its stage decorated this week with dozens of heraldic flags representing all the academic hood colors, was a special venue, too, for Senior Class Council President Megan Wiener, who was dressed in full regalia, with a Cal mask, and had signed up to process with six friends. Headed next for Berkeley Law, she also was the Rally Committee’s vice chair; before the pandemic, the group held annual events at the Greek, like Big Game Bonfire.

“Obviously, we understand the situation, why we can’t have a normal, full commencement experience,” said Wiener, whose hometown is San Diego. “I definitely think it’s great that we at least get to walk in some capacity, to get that feeling.”

Students in regalia line up outside the Greek Theatre on the first of a five-day graduation procession during the pandemic.

Students continued to line up outside the Greek Theatre throughout the entire day on Sunday, the start of a five-day, COVID-era graduation procession. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Four friends who met their first year at Berkeley — Pamela George, Yazmin Renteria Sanchez, Laila Elias and Geraldine Lonsdale — also chose to process one after the other. Three of them are roommates, and Renteria joined them Saturday night so they could get ready for the event together, with new shoes and stylish sunglasses with bright-colored lenses.

“It’s great I got to dress up with my friends,” said George, who graduated with a degree in molecular and cell biology and is planning to attend medical school. On Sunday afternoon, the foursome traveled to Vallejo for a graduation party thrown by Lonsdale’s family.

For Renteria, who lived with her parents in Sacramento during the pandemic, the chance to have a special livestreamed moment, all her own, meant that a group of about 30 of her relatives in Mexico could watch their first family member to attend college walk the stage.

“Except for me, no one in my family has even graduated from high school,” the molecular and cell biology major — and aspiring doctor — said. “And my mom has 17 brothers and sisters, and my dad has 12.”

Famiies and friends of the graduates sit outside the Greek Theatre gates and watch the livestreamed event on their phone.

Friends and family, unable to view the procession inside the Greek Theatre, sit just outside its gates and watch the livestreamed event on their phones, eager to catch a glimpse of their favorite graduates. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Typically, Berkeley has more graduation ceremonies than any other college or university in the U.S., said Maya Goehring-Harris, Berkeley’s director of external relations and the Office of Protocol. There are about 68 formal, departmental ceremonies, she said, and a total of nearly 100, when adding in those held by student organizations.

This month, during a most challenging year, only the virtual commencement and the Greek Theatre procession were scheduled.

Tsu-Jae King Liu, dean of the College of Engineering, spent two hours on the dais on Sunday, clapping for and congratulating students who crossed the stage and posing with them for photos.

“I tried to greet each student by their first name, to help personalize the experience, and it was great to see them smile in response,” she said. “It was a joy and a privilege to celebrate such an important, well-deserved milestone with the graduates.”

Paris Soto and her mom, Karen Sakamoto, hug each other tightly after Soto finished walking across the Greek Theatre stage.

Paris Sato, who is graduating with a degree in architecture, hugs her mom, Karen Sakamoto, who flew from Hawaii to wait for her daughter to exit the Greek Theatre stage. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Athletic Director Jim Knowlton, who also took a turn onstage on Sunday, emailed that he “had a blast … handing out ‘diplomas,’ and that it looked like the graduates did, too.”

“The students were extremely appreciative and were able to still have fun in the empty Greek Theatre,” he said. “There was lots of waving to imagined fans, families and friends, and also a lot of hooting and celebrating.”

Those who have been — and will be — at the Greek Theatre more than just a few hours a day may be celebrating an end on Thursday to hearing the seemingly endless loop of “Pomp and Circumstance,” despite the happiness they’re witnessing and feeling there this week.

So many hours of nonstop “Pomp and Circumstance” “is enough to drive anyone insane. I feel like I hum it in my sleep,” quipped Rob Bean. event operations manager at the Greek Theatre. “In a normal graduation year, many of the schools (on campus) break it up with different versions of it, like reggae or jazz/big band. But, alas, this year, because of the nature of what we’re doing, it’s one looooonnnnnng four-hour song, followed by our lunch break, then another five hours of it.”

Said Goehring-Harris, who also is becoming extra familiar with the famous march during the five-day event, “It would definitely be interesting to study the cognitive impact of it.”