Commencement Weekend
Friday, May 10 - Sunday, May 12, 2013
Congratulations Seniors! Welcome family and friends as we celebrate the Class of 2013. Watch this page for more information regarding commencement events.
Schedule - Quick View
Friday, May 10, 2013
- 2 p.m.-3 p.m. - Baccalaureate Rehearsal, graduates meet at Houston Memorial Chapel
- 3 p.m.-4:30 p.m. - Final Friday (mandatory for graduates), Hampson Commons, Student Center
Saturday, May 11, 2013
- 11 a.m. - Baccalaureate, Houston Memorial Chapel
- 3:30 p.m. - Daisy Chain, front steps of Martin Science Building
- 4 p.m.-5 p.m. - Garden Party, Sundial/Suntrust Plaza
Sunday, May 12, 2013
- 8:15 a.m. - Mandatory Rehearsal for Graduates and Squires , Pines House
- 10 a.m. - Commencement Exercises, The Dell
Commencement Speaker: Bill Bolling, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia 
General Information
Traditions: Daisy Chain, Graduation Squires
Parking information
The city police will enforce parking regulations on the streets surrounding the College throughout the weekend, so guests are reminded to observe all parking signs. Parking areas on campus will be marked, and security officers will be available to provide directions. For the Commencement ceremony, a van shuttle will run constantly from the various parking areas on campus to the Bell parking lot, the area adjacent to The Dell. The Dell is steep, and everyone is advised to wear comfortable and appropriate shoes.
Assistance for those with disabilities
For the Commencement ceremony, handicap accessible shuttles will be available for those who cannot walk down into The Dell. Shuttles will also be leaving periodically from the Main Hall front porch until 10 a.m. In addition, the handicap accessible shuttles will pick up passengers at the far north end of the Bell parking lot. Handicap-accessible seating will be made available upon reservation. If your party will include someone who has special needs, please contact the Dean of Students Office to reserve a handicap-accessible seat, 434-947-8895. One companion will be allowed to sit with the special-needs guest in the handicap-accessible seats.
Cameras and video equipment
Use of cameras and video equipment during Commencement is permitted in the designated areas.
Pagers and cell phones
During the Commencement ceremony, all pagers and cell phones should be turned off.
Rehearsal and lineup
It is important for graduates to BE ON TIME for Daisy Chain and Commencement rehearsal and lineup. Instructions for graduates and seniors' squires will be posted on the Commencement bulletin boards in the Main and Webb Hall lobbies and will be handed out at Commencement rehearsal as well.
Professional photographs
Professional photographers will be taking a photo of each graduate as they receive their diploma.
Commencement video
Order forms for the Commencement video will be available in an envelope on the Commencement bulletin boards in the Main and Webb Hall lobbies for those who would like to purchase a video but did not place an order in advance.
Traditions
Daisy Chain
Daisy Chain has been a colorful graduation event since the early 1900s. On the Saturday of Commencement weekend, Sophomores carry the long daisy chain, which they made earlier in the day, across front campus on their shoulders to the steps of Martin, where they transfer the daisy chain from their shoulders to those of the seniors, their sister class.
Graduation Squires
It is tradition for each senior to select a graduation squire who will march with the senior and sit directly behind the graduate during Commencement. At the designated moment during the Commencement ceremony, the squire will ceremoniously place the Randolph College baccalaureate hood around the senior’s collar.
Originally the squires were sophomores; but once sophomores were no longer required to stay for Commencement, seniors began to choose family members as their squires. Although most seniors choose fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, grandparents, alumnae relatives, or siblings to act as their squire, some seniors choose a person who is not a relative but someone with whom the senior wants to share this very special occasion.
Please note that each senior is limited to one squire. seniors may choose not to have a squire, in which case they will “hood” themselves. If a squire would have difficulty walking down into The Dell from the Pines area, she or he will simply ride the van from Main Hall front porch into The Dell and join the processional as it enters The Dell, both for rehearsal and the actual ceremony.
