More than 1,000 students have been invited to receive undergraduate and graduate degrees from Bemidji State University during BSU’s 93rd commencement exercise on Friday, May 4.

Commencement exercises will again be held in Bemidji’s Sanford Center, located on First Avenue, and will begin at 2 p.m. Central time. The ceremony is expected to last approximately two hours.

Commencement ceremonies at Bemidji State University are free and open to the public; no tickets are required. Seating in the Sanford Center is general admission, and there will be no parking charge for the event. While there are approximately 1,000 parking spots at the Sanford Center, based on last years attendance, carpooling is encouraged to minimize overflow parking on the streets. Students and guests may park in the Bangsberg parking lot on the BSU campus and carpool from there; no permits are required in BSU parking lots on Commencement Day.

Commencement guests should enter the Sanford Center through Gate 2, through the main concourse. Only the lower bowl of the Sanford Center will be open for seating. Seating in Sections U and V will be reserved for handicapped visitors and their families. Section W has been designated as the section for hearing-impared guests and their families. Section X is reserved for international students and guests. Concessions will be available in the concession stand behind Section U.

For the first time, BSU’s commencement ceremony will also be available through a live online video stream. The stream will be available through America One and will begin at 2 p.m. Central time. Visit the streaming site in advance to ensure you have the correct plug-ins to view the stream.

Pre-Commencement Brunch
Commencement activities on campus begin with a pre-commencement bruch, where each college and department at the University will host graduates and their families from 9:30-11:30 a.m. The Beaux Arts Ballroom in the upper union will host physical education, exercise science and sport health; professional education; and accounting and business majors. Other graduates will meet in the lower Union. College of Arts and Sciences graduates will be in the Lakeside North and Lower Lakeside-East areas, with mass communication grads also gathering in Lakeside North. The Scandanavian Room will host psychology grads and criminal justice majors will meet in the Viking Room and social work grads will gather in Lower Lakeside-South. Technological studies graduates will gather in the Crying Wolf Room.

Guest drop-off will be available along Birchmont Drive and handicapped parking will be open behind the lower union. Wheelchair access will be provide through both the upper and lower unions. Guides will be available to provide assistance. No tickets are required for access to the brunch.

Visitors to campus for the brunch are reminded that the campus is tobacco-free. More information on the University’s tobacco-free policy is available here .

Commencement Walk
Commencement ceremonies will begin shortly before 2 p.m. when Bemidji State faculty and staff will partake in the traditional Commencement Walk. Students will exit the Sanford Center through Gate 5 and walk between the Sanford Center and Lake Bemidji before re-entering the center through Gate 2 and moving into the arena for the ceremony. In the event of inclement weather, the walk will take place through the Sanford Center concourse.

LINKS
• BSU Commencement website
• BSU Commencement live stream