Please tell me how you would feel et what you would do

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Our RN pinning ceremony is 5 1/2 wks away and we are told now that we are only allowed 4 people to come for it. Or we can barter with others for their tickets. Does this seem right? I have added the letter I submitted to our director and dean of our program. I have edited it so no one will know which college we attend. please tell me what you think. thanks

I am writing this on behalf of myself, no one else. I am not trying to cause problems or make waves or any such thing. I received a message from a fellow student, that her father had called and talked with the dean today and was told that we would be allowed to invite 4 people to graduation or we could barter with fellow students for their share of people. I am quite confused and upset by this whole situation. We have worked very hard for this, sacrificed, and put our lives on hold. Our families have also had to sacrifice as well. And now we have to tell family and friends that “I’m sorry but we are only allowed to invite 4 people to share in the celebration that the last two years were not for nothing. I am sure when you all went to your pinning ceremony it was as important to you as it was to the people in your lives. This is suppose to be one of the most important days of our lives. Myself alone have succeeded more than I ever thought I would be able to. I dropped out of school and got my GED. My friends and family want to share in this wonderful moment and celebrate this milestone in my life. There are other students that I know are in the same situations. One student has 6 children, and now she must choose who can come watch mommy? After all that we have made it through- this is what it comes to. Students who are trying to make a decision of whether or not to go to their pinning ceremony because of this situation.

Why not seek other alternatives. Renting a different center, how much could it cost? Some of us were talking today, and agreed that we would be willing to each give $20.00 to help in this cost if that is what is keeping the college from seeking an alternative location. I have close to $28,000 in loans and I would like for everyone in my life that wants to celebrate this moment with me, to be able to come. If it costs me an additional cost so those people that are important in my life to be there, than so be it. I just wish people in the college would see how important this is to us. I know it is basketball season, but to think that athletics are put ahead of academics is a sad thought. There must be something that can be done. I beg of you to please take into consideration these ideas. You know how important your pinning ceremony was to you. Please don’t let this be how our nursing careers start, with some not even going to their graduation because they are forced to choose. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

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I have four children, a spouse, and family as well. I would be upset, too. Do they always hold graduation this way, or is this sporting event the cause?

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We are told that because it is basketball season, it can not be held in the gym-They use to have graduation once a year in may, but they started a November program and we are the first RN graduates. They want to hold it in the same place as our pinning was last year, but we now have the LPN grads, and a evening program that is graduating too. So there will be approx. 200 students getting pinned that night. but no more seating. It just seems unfair that the college does not care.

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Congrats on all you have achieved! I can see that this is a very important event for you however, I disagree with you trying to fight this.

The school likely has a limited choice of venues and limited funds to allocate. Having some of the students pay an extra 20$ is not likely going to cover the cost to get a different venue. I am not sure if you have ever gotten married but renting a venue for an event can be very expensive. Probably the school is choosing a place they can afford and that worked out in previous years.

A better way to deal with this is to put the word out right away that some of you need extra tickets. When I graduated, some people from my class didn't even go to graduation and some people had one or 2 people there for them. Not EVERYONE has an extended family that they are going to be inviting. And offering money to those individuals that could give away the extra tickets would be attractive. And in the rare even that you can't get extra tickets, the last two years will not be "for nothing" just because everyone that you want to be there can't be there. The joy of graduating shouldn't be confined just to the pinning ceremony. How about having a party after the ceremony? Then you can invite whomever you chose. Can a family member videotape the event? You could show it to them later.

Again, I understand that you are frustrated at this situation but I would spend your energy on a more feasible solution as I have described above.

Good luck and let us know how things turn out.

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In addition to the cost issues, a few weeks is probably not sufficient time to reserve a facility of this size. I'd rather they limit seating in advance than turn people away at the door. Agree with VegRN - put the word out that you need tickets.

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fellow classmates have talked this over, and we have checked into what renting a different venue would cost. There is a center in the town that has a theater which holds 650 people. to rent for one day is $300.00 How can this not be an option. And I don't think we should have to give cash to other students for their tickets. We don't purchase them from the college, so why should we pay someone in our class for the right to have our family and friends be there. I am married and I am aware of the cost. A lot of us are non-traditonal students, and for us, the pinning ceremony is a "big deal". I don't feel that I have to tell family members that they can't come. They have been waiting for this moment as long as I have. Also the "for nothing" doesn't pertain to the fact that if they don't get to come to the ceremony than it would be for nothing. I am talking about how our families have gone through us neglecting them for the last two years, this is their celebration too.

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Your letter sounds okay to me. It won't hurt to try. All that can happen is that they say no. Good luck.

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Specializes in Maternal - Child Health.
fellow classmates have talked this over, and we have checked into what renting a different venue would cost. There is a center in the town that has a theater which holds 650 people. to rent for one day is $300.00 How can this not be an option.

I'm not getting the math. Did I understand correctly that there are approx. 200 students receiving pins? At 4 guests per person, that comes to 800 visitors. How would renting a theater which seats 650 people be of any help?

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I am estimating on the 2 other groups that are graduating. Our group has 70 people. This center also has an exhibit room that can hold larger groups, that cost $500.00. I know there are less students in the evening program. There are also other sites that would hold everyone. The local high school has an average of 250 students that graduate each year and our pinning is on a tuesday evening. So their building might be a possible location. Also I am not trying to "fight" this. I do feel that the school should have taken these things into consideration instead of not leaving any other options available. To me it is sad that we do not have a choice or say in this matter.

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I guess I apoligize for posting this thread. I thought a pinning ceremony was a big deal, at this college it the nursing program holds its own graduation separate from all the other programs. It sounds like graduating from college is no big deal and I guess why even go. Maybe people would feel differently if they were in our shoes, or someone they cared about was going through this.

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Specializes in NICU.

We arranged for a venue that would have enough seats for each of us to invite 12 people. Some places (esp. a community center or related to a school) aren't that much to rent. What about a high school auditorium?

My pinning ceremony was a big deal--only a couple of people didn't come and they had very good reasons (out of town, actually giving birth :)). The pinning ceremony was much more important to most of us than the big graduation ceremony. I think you ought to give finding another place a whirl; you have a lot of graduates.

Good luck. Let us know how things turn out.

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I would be upset too. The same thing happened to us during high school graduation. Budget cuts happened and we had to use our gym which was nowhere near big enough and no one would allow us to com up with the money to rent the old facility. It is disappointing, but try not to let it rain on your parade. Maybe you can host a small dinner as an "appreciation" for all those that have helped you through this process?

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