Otterbein seniors had their final year of college cut short when the university made the announcement that the rest of the semester would be online.
Due to COVID-19 concerns, Otterbein decided to move the rest of the semester online and asked all students to be moved out of their dorms by March 24. This meant that seniors had to move out of their dorms within a week from the announcement. Their senior year experience would end when they abruptly had to move back to their hometowns.
Megan Powell, a senior zoo and conservation science and biology double major said, “For many of us, graduating college is a culmination of at least 16 years of school, perhaps the biggest achievement thus far in our lives, and to not be able to end our time at Otterbein on our own terms is saddening in many ways.”
Not only did seniors have their last year of undergraduate cut short, they were also told that graduation would have to be postponed. The new date for the graduation ceremony is still unknown due to the current COVID-19 pandemic.
“It definitely is a bummer that our graduation got cancelled because it is a special time for us seniors to celebrate our accomplishments over the last four years, and all the hard work that we have put in to get to this point,” said Kennedy Mensah, a senior allied health major.
President John Comerford said students will be receiving their diplomas in the mail. He also added that the Otterbein Bookstore will be holding caps, gowns and chords “in hopes that we can have a ceremony.”
“I definitely do hope that is does get rescheduled for a later time, because I know that everyone who was going to be a part of the ceremony was definitely excited about it,” Mensah added.
Students can continue to receive updates on COVID-19 effects on campus and semester information on Otterbein's frequently asked questions page.
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