Students protest UJ decision to move graduation ceremonies

AMMAN — Over 7,000 students at the University of Jordan (UJ) have signed a petition demanding that the administration go back on a decision to stop holding graduation ceremonies at the university’s main stadium.

The dean council at UJ had issued the decision to move graduation ceremonies from the main stadium on campus to theatres within each college.

Nashama, a bloc within the UJ Student Union, said in a statement that it had organised a petition to protest the decision, adding that the dean council also restricted the number of guests each student could invite from four to two.

The group met with UJ President Azmi Mahaftha, who refused to reconsider the decision or to discuss it further with the dean council, according to Nashama member Raed Khalaileh.

During the meeting, Mahaftha said that graduation ceremonies at the stadium cost JD100,000, excluding the salaries of 200 security staff, according to Khalaileh.

He said the UJ president also pointed to heavy traffic congestion caused by graduation ceremonies at the stadium which required roads to be closed.

Mahaftha also cited instances of harassment and fights between guests at previous ceremonies at the stadium as reasons for the decision, according to the student.

The UJ president said that only 50 to 60 per cent of graduating students attended the ceremonies, adding that students had the right to graduate, but that it was for the university to make decisions about the ceremony itself, according to Khalaileh.

The student responded that the president’s reasons were “organisational” and were not sufficient to cancel the stadium ceremonies.

Officials at UJ’s media department were not available for comment on the meeting or the decision.

The Nashama group said it held an online survey, which found that 5,000 opposed moving the graduation ceremonies, while 120 supported the decision. Nashama member Hussam Okour said the university administration was not convinced by the students’ opposition to the move.

Hanin Sawalha, a fourth year psychology student, said she has the right to enjoy a graduation ceremony at the stadium, like previous classes.  

Another student, Yara Dahbour, acknowledged that graduation ceremonies cause traffic jams, but said that Amman suffers from traffic congestion every day.

“The financial costs of the ceremonies might be high but we are paying the fees and that give us the right to celebrate it the way it should be,” Dahbour added.

The Nashama group said it submitted a feasibility study and possible solutions to the problems that the university had presented as reasons for the decision. 

Heba Medhat, a student at the faculty of foreign languages, said she is wondering where she would graduate as her faculty does not have a theatre or enough lecture halls to host a ceremony.