Pandemic regulations rob graduates, families joy of milestone occasion

AMMAN — Not allowing parents and close family to attend graduation ceremonies due to pandemic concerns has brought mixed emotions from graduates and their families.

“I was really sad and my heart was heavy when I entered the stadium to receive my degree, without having my family in there,” said Aya Zuhair, a student who graduated from the University of Jordan (UJ) on Wednesday.

Although there was a bit of confusion and disappointment, Zuhair is still happy that the university reconsidered hosting in-person graduation ceremony, which she believes is “one of the most important occasions in a person’s life that celebrates one’s achievements and major accomplishment”.

“Graduation from university is a major milestone. I was supposed to watch my daughter receive her college degree after four years of hard work, but with COVID restrictions I could not,” said Sahar Ammar, a mother whose daughter graduated from the UJ on Wednesday.

She added that it is “unfair” to allow concerts and festivals to take place with huge crowds in Jordan, while parents have been “deprived of the joy” of watching their children receive degrees.

“I am tremendously proud of my daughter and I wish I was there with her,” she said.

“I did not expect to walk at my graduation ceremony without having my parents watching me, but at least we had an in-person ceremony amid a pandemic, which is a good thing,” another recent graduate, Beesan Zain, told The Jordan Times on Thursday.

Zain added that she is grateful because she got to see many of her friends and experience her happiest moments with them. 

“There is no need to invite the whole family to the ceremony amid the ongoing circumstances,” said Hala Subhi, a mother whose son graduated on Wednesday.

However, she added: “Parents should be included in the ceremony, which means each graduate should have taken two tickets.”

“Parents have given all they have to raise their children, so they deserve those moments of joy,” she stated.