Protesters escorted out as Abbott speaks at UNT

UNTFan23 · May 19, 2015

I think having the ceremonies moved around due to the bad weather that never happened is what kept attendance down more than the key note speaker.

When I graduated we had the mass ceremony first thing in the morning and then my college ceremony later in the day. If it had been reversed I might have just gone to the college ceremony and skipped the mass ceremony depending on the timing of everything.

UNTexas · May 20, 2015

No, it wasn't the weather. But the weather predictions caused them to rework commencement so most of these students actually had their school's commencement earlier that day. The "mass" commencement was then entirely separate from their walking. Ask yourself this question: If you were 22 years old and had already sat through one commencement that day, and had already walked, would you want to go back that night to sit in an auditorium and listen to all that talking?

Ding Ding Ding. We have a winner. I barely made it to my commencement around lunch time and wouldn't have gone had my mom and girlfriend made me go. Damn sure wouldn't have gone to a second because it was party time. It's pretty dumb to have multiple graduations and also inviting a big name speaker to the later event.

mattmartin817 · May 20, 2015

I imagine GreenMachine in this way:

Funny. I always figured it was more like this.

That_Guy_Arlo · May 20, 2015

All I know is I'm glad that my gf made the decision to skip that mass ceremony. We instead had a get-together with family and drank beer.

10/10 would skip again.

greenit · May 21, 2015

no doubt RV was somehow responsible for the low turnout.

Graduation, unlike football games, do not sell themselves.

Army of Dad · May 22, 2015

Damn. Fewer people showed up for the mass May commencement than did for my December master's only ceremony. I don't know if you can blame a 10% attendance rate on the weather. Those numbers seem pretty telling to me.

That's pretty good numbers for athletic events. Imagine if we got 10% of unit grads in the metroplex to buy season tickets.

I'm guessing we actually only have about 10% left after year three of Benford ball...

UNTflyer · May 22, 2015

UNT student's political prowess is weak at best. There are university students all over this country that have chased away conservative speakers from their commencement cermonies. Here in Denton, a weak-ass "petition" that barely generated 3000 signatures and about a dozen barely noticed protestors Saturday night.

Abbott's position that education comprises his three top "emergencies" in Texas, along with his desire to provide more research funding to UNT, had no business in a university commencement. His desire to push his radical beliefs about perservering over life's challenges and the hateful idea of the importance of education should have been rejected by every single student on campus.

Yet another example of how UNT falls short of its potential.