 "Photo: Jen Stiles/Cardinal Points")
Nicole Immerso may actually achieve her dream.
The Plattsbugh State senior can now apply to speak at commencement, an honor she did not qualify for as recently as Tuesday. But her petition, and a slew of meetings to discuss the process of selecting the student commencement speaker, put into effect a rapid policy change that broadens the criteria for applying from a mandatory 3.7 GPA to a 3.4.
“It all kind of hit me so fast,” Immerso gushed upon hearing the news. “I think it’s really great that they took my petition so seriously.”
Her 3.56 GPA left her just under the previous requirement of 3.7.
The Honors Council, a body consisting of six honors students and six faculty members, met Feb. 19 to discuss her petition, which suggested the policy be reconsidered. Student Association Senator Charles Sanchez drafted a resolution on behalf of the SA and took part in the discussion.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Honors Program Director David Mowry sent a memo to President John Ettling with three recommendations.
One, Mowry recommended, the SA vice president for academics and the senator ex-officio for academic affairs should work with the Honors Council to determine the speaker. If the two students who fulfill this position are not honors students, that would add two students outside of the honors program to the decision process.
Second, on an experimental basis, students who qualify for cum laude graduation honors, which requires a 3.4 GPA, should be included in those eligible to apply. Previously, only those with magna or summa cum laude status could apply.
And thirdly, Mowry recommended the criteria for applying continue to be based on graduation honors, or GPA, rather than taking into consideration extracurricular activities, as was suggested.
The selection process, which starts with a lengthy evaluation to determine which students are eligible to apply and then gives them at least two weeks to draft a speech, leaves only four days for the Honors Council to read and evaluate speeches. Mowry said adding another level — determining the significance of extracurricular activities — would eat up time the council could be spending on giving each speech the consideration it deserves.
Ettling reviewed the recommendations and decided they should be implemented immediately.
“I think that Dr. Mowry makes a good point when he said that commencement is a celebration of academic achievement, nothing more and nothing less,” Ettling said. “(Those students) met an academic standard over several semesters of sustained work.”
Immerso is impressed that Ettling listens intently to the voices of students.
“It’s so great to know that the president of our college is so invested in these issues,” she said.
Mowry said the Honors Council critiqued the suggestion of using a points system similar to that of Omicron Delta Kappa, which takes into consideration extracurricular activities.
While he said he knows the intention is to include more students, he said the points system might exclude some students who have worked hard to achieve academic excellence, without sufficient time for other activities.
He said, “The Honors Council felt that because commencement is the celebration of the completion of an academic program and related academic requirements, the most reasonable thing to do is to give students who complete those requirements at the level of excellence represented in graduation with honors — those are the students who should have the opportunity to speak to their classmates.”
For those who might be unfairly excluded, Mowry used the example of adult or non-traditional students. Balancing a job and a family, it might be impossible for those students to participate in extracurricular activities, despite that they may be top academic performers.
International students might also be excluded, as many try to graduate in three years to shrink the cost of education abroad. Taking such a heavy load of credits keeps them, in some cases, from dedicating themselves to other activities.
Mowry also rejects the claim that students with a 3.7 GPA or higher, who were previously the only ones considered for the position of student speaker, are not well-rounded. Many of these students have been heavily involved with student life, while maintaining a high GPA. An example would be former SA President Angel Acosta.
Adding the cum laudes will greatly increase the pool of applicants. In spring 2009, there were 84 magna and summa cum laude graduates altogether. Adding the cum laude students, that number would have been upped to 209.
If adding the cum laudes sparks a flood of applicants that exceeds what the Honors Council can evaluate in a few days’ time, the decision will be revisited.
“We didn’t want to get locked into saying this is the way it has to be forever,” Mowry said. “Let’s try it, and if people are dissatisfied with it, we can consider other modifications.”
Sanchez said he was pleased with the results of his resolution, coupled with Immerso’s petition.
“The resolution was meant to spark a conversation between the Honors Council and the Student Association,” he said. “I’m glad the resolution sparked that.”
Now, he is handing the reins to SA President Charlie Peppers, who said he has made the modification of this process a personal project on his agenda.
Peppers met with Ettling Feb. 24 with a proposal: He hopes to form a new board, separate from the Honors Council, whose sole purpose would be to select the commencement speaker.
“Having students from different ends of the campus — they’ll see something in a student that others won’t see,” he said.
Peppers said he would like to see students evaluated differently than they are now; for example, he thinks students should have to perform their speech as a part of the selection process, as public speaking skills are important in delivering an effective speech.
He said he hopes this board will begin its work in the fall.
But the changes that have been made are enough to give Immerso a shot at the podium on graduation day.
For her submission, she knows what she will write.
“You’re gonna have a few of those funny little anecdotes, but I think it’s important to highlight how Plattsburgh has made me who I am.”
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