Graduation ‘things’ not helpful and add to seniors’ anxiety

As graduation approaches rapidly, seniors have been caught in a fervor of plans, employment searches and the myriad anxieties that come with the transition from student to something else.  Unfortunately, seniors have also been barraged with e-mails from the University Events Office, run by a female, reminding us about the logistics that come with commencement ceremony. 

I make a genuine effort to understand the befuddling vernacular of the constant reminders, but I am interrupted by the pseudo-mothering tone.  While professors and administrators complain about having to deal with bratty millennials with so-called "helicopter parents," the very documents of the University embody and exaggerate the problem of over-parenting and entitlement. 

Many of the e-mails focus on the supposedly crushing guilt that will befall us if we don't complete all of out commencement "things." By not completing these tasks, supposedly we are unable to participate in the commencement ceremony, ultimately ending in our getting disowned by our parents.  I take issue with this for two reasons.  First, this assumes we are not capable, intelligent young adults. Secondly, this type of communication is an alarming example of the highly gendered nature of Gonzaga's administration. 

When I read these e-mails, I often want to reply with a note letting the University know that I have a mother already.  Luckily, my actual mother trusts me to get my own graduation accoutrement and understands that it is my responsibility to keep track of the details that make my life run smoothly.  The constant reminders and guilt-trips from the University Events office infantilize the Gonzaga graduating class and only continue to placate to the students who have had their entire life handed to them.  Frankly, if you can't remember to get your graduation clothing order and application in on time, perhaps you should not be graduating from college.  This sort of ridiculous pandering to entitled students only serves to promulgate the unfortunate Spokane community reputation of Gonzaga students as incompetent brats.

Beyond the consequences of University Events e-mails to the students they reach, the messages also serve as a blatant reminder that Gonzaga is highly gendered in the manner in which men and women exist in the administration of the University. Men, for the most part, command highly authoritative positions manifested by stern communication, if there is communication with students at all.  However, the e-mails are one example of the sort of pseudo-mother role taken on by female staff members.  The supposedly funny chiding tone illustrates the traditional role women play in the Gonzaga administration. 

As we examine our move towards graduation and we make important analyses about our lives, our values and our futures, it seems appropriate to examine our University, its values and its future as well.