By: Hannah Shields and Kadie Gurley
When the Long Beach State class of 2023 learned they were, for the third time, not permitted a traditional graduation ceremony at Angel Stadium, these three students took charge giving voice to their outrage.
Mahek Patel
Mahek Patel created a Discord chat after she and other graduating CSULB students received an email on Feb. 21 which announced another non-traditional graduation ceremony.
“The ‘What to Expect’ page said to refer to the videos from 2020… and we realized we’re not walking,” Patel said. “Our names are not going to be read.”
Patel then created a Discord server and sent the link to her other class Discord servers, which then began to circulate. The Discord chat was small, with only about 50 members, before Elrachid got in contact with Patel.
“The Discord became a space for plans on what we’re going to do next,” Patel said.
After she had created the Discord, Patel emailed the dean of students, who referred her to Jeff Klaus, associate vice president of student affairs. Klaus met with Patel and Elrachid, along with 20 other students, via Zoom on March 13.
Patel said Klaus couldn’t answer their questions concerning the ceremony because he wasn’t on the commencement team. Klaus did, however, connected them with commencement team member Christopher Reese.
However, their attempt to meet with Reese became a dead end.
“Reese said he was busy for the next two weeks, and after two weeks, it was Spring Break,” Patel said. “Basically, we were not going to be able to talk with him.”
Patel said she also reached out twice to Daniel Montoya, vice president of student affairs, but did not receive a reply. An official email for their organization was created, and the organizers contacted CSULB President Jane Close Conoley.
“[Conoley] responded with an email that didn’t actually answer our questions,” Patel said. “After that, we realized they’re not going to talk to us.”
Zeina Elrachid
Zeina Elrachid, a molecular cell biology major and first-generation student, started a petition to protest the university’s commencement on March 2, which has accumulated over 18,600 signatures as of April 6.
Her parents were shocked to find out that their child, along with all seniors, would not be walking the stage or hearing their names called.
“My parents are so outraged,” Elrachid said. “My dad is really upset. He actually just sent an email to President Conoley today and said, ‘we need to make a change.’”
Elrachid said Conoley should re-evaluate her decision and say the name of all graduating seniors.
“She gets paid to do that,” Elrachid said. “She should have a little bit more motivation and understanding.”
Elrachid is determined to change the current stance of commencement not only for this year but for future graduations down the road. If the 2023 class ends up not walking, she wants a written statement promising the next class will.
“I don’t think we’re doing anything wrong, just speaking up for what we deserve,” Elrachid said.
During the CSU Board of Trustees meeting on March 21, which Conoley was present for, Elrachid gave a personal statement.
“I know you all have graduated from college at one point or another,” Elrachid said. “I’m sure you still remember the day you walked that stage, with your name called and your loved ones cheering you on. That’s the tradition we’re fighting to keep.”
Po Garcia
Po Garcia, a linguistics major, didn’t get to have a traditional graduation ceremony at her community college when she graduated in 2020 due to the pandemic.
“Being able to have the experience at Long Beach, what I thought I was going to have, meant a lot to me,” Garcia said. “The longer I sat on it made me angrier.”
When Garcia joined Patel’s Discord server, which had 100 members at the time, Garcia said the server was infiltrated with trolls and seemed unorganized. After she privately messaged Patel with a suggestion to create separate channels, Patel offered to make her an admin, which Garcia accepted.
“My fiancé is invested, too,” Garcia said. “He’s been working off in the background, and he’ll send me information.”
Garcia’s now husband, whom she married over spring break, is a public speaking tutor and is “really good at being able to think on his feet.” He helped cultivate the best way to respond to the commencement team’s and Conoley’s emails regarding the ceremony, according to Garcia.
On top of being an admin for Let ’23 Walk and planning her wedding (which involved sewing her own wedding dress), Garcia also is a commuter from Upland.
“It has been really difficult juggling it all,” Garcia said. “I do believe that’s why I got sick.”
Garcia had to miss a couple of weeks of school when she fell ill and had to make up her midterm exams. However, that didn’t stop her from designing the posts for the Let ’23 Walk Instagram page or from meeting with fellow organizers over spring break to spend five hours making protest signs.
“We’re not planning on backing off at all,” she said.