Princeton University Graduates Can Attend Commencement

PRINCETON, NJ — Princeton University announced it was allowing 2021 graduating students to attend the commencement ceremony in May.

In their original announcement back in February, only undergraduate students living on campus or in the Mercer County/Plainsboro area were invited to attend the ceremony, as were students receiving a Ph.D. or final master's degree.

According to the new update posted April 9, the university said all “graduating seniors and masters and Ph.D. recipients are invited to attend.”

In keeping with their pervious announcement, students who had their housing or campus access revoked “due to Social Contract violations,” will not be allowed to attend.

“Undergraduate seniors and graduate students who are not currently in the asymptomatic testing program will be required to meet certain requirements in order to participate,” the university said.

Each student will be permitted to bring two guests to the outdoor ceremony at Princeton Stadium.

Earlier, the university said it was "unsure" of inviting guests and had asked families not to make "non-refundable travel arrangements."

However, Princeton said it will continue to monitor the public health situation and state guidelines in the weeks ahead, and in case circumstances change significantly, plans for the ceremony will be revised.

All guests will be expected to follow state and CDC guidelines while travelling to and from the university for the commencement.

“Guests will be required to wear face coverings while on campus and in Princeton Stadium, and to practice social distancing,” the university said.

“Pairs of guests must maintain appropriate physical distance from other attendees.”

The ceremony will also be live streamed for students and guests who are unable to attend, said the university.

The university’s announcement comes as the state has been dealing with a surge in new COVID-19 cases the past few weeks.

The CDC ranked New Jersey second in the U.S. in coronavirus cases per capita over the past week.

Read More Here: NJ In New CDC Coronavirus Hot Zone: 2nd Highest Case Rate In U.S.

More recently, the NJ was among five states behind nearly half of the country's new COVID-19 infections, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

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