By Staff Reports
(Oahu)–UH Mānoa will hold its Mid-Year 2014 Commencement ceremony on Saturday morning, December 20, at the Stan Sheriff Center from 9 a.m. to noon. Commencement speaker is Kathryn Matayoshi, Superintendent, Hawai‘i State Department of Education.
New this year are carpooling incentives, an option to view the ceremony live at Murakami Stadium, and the opening of the H-Zone store on the morning of the ceremony.
More than 1,000 students are eligible to receive degrees and certificates to conclude the Fall academic term. Approximately 800 students will receive bachelor degrees, and more than 200 will receive master’s and doctorate degrees, and post-baccalaureate certificates in secondary education.
Graduates, families, friends, and UH faculty and staff who plan to attend this year’s Commencement should be aware of possible traffic congestion. Approach the campus with caution, and arrive early to avoid delays.
The student procession will begin at 8:30 a.m., with the program to start at 9 a.m. Free parking will be available in the Lower Campus Parking Structure, which will open at 6 a.m.
Doors to the Stan Sheriff Center will open at 7:45 a.m. The event is free and open to the public. No tickets are issued, and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Balloons and strollers are not allowed inside the Stan Sheriff Center.
Hawaii Department of Education Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi will be Commencement speaker.
NEW THIS YEAR:
CAR POOLING/PARKING
- There will be special VIP Parking for graduates and their families on the University High School/Lab School lawn. Carpooling graduates (3 or more in a vehicle) who park in this special VIP Parking area will receive one 21-ounce Hydro Flask per car, while supplies last. Important: Every vehicle must have a graduate with cap and gown in order to park in this VIP area and to receive the one Hydro Flask per car. Graduates and their families who park in the special VIP Parking area from 6 a.m. may also take a trolley to (and from) the Stan Sheriff Center, until the special VIP parking area is filled. Come early to take advantage of this special VIP Parking area.
- To encourage carpooling, there will be reserved Priority Parking for guests that carpool (3 or more in a vehicle) on the first floor of the Parking Structure, while space is available.
- These new parking opportunities are sponsored by Enterprise, GEICO, UHM Food Services, UH Alumni Association, Safeway Mānoa and Sodexo.
VIEWING THE CEREMONY AND GREETING GRADUATES
- The ceremony may be viewed live from Murakami Stadium, with food, water and soft drinks available for purchase at concessions stands.
- Following the ceremony, friends and family members may greet graduates at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletic Complex (surnames A-N), and the Les Murakami Baseball Stadium (O-Z).
H-ZONE
- The H-Zone store will be open at the Stan Sheriff Center from 7 a.m. to the end of the ceremony. A 10 percent discount is available during Saturday’s special hours of operation.
Vehicles may drive onto Upper Campus (main campus) and park for free. To access Lower Campus, pedestrians should cross Dole Street at the traffic light and crosswalk located between the Law School Library and Law School. Pedestrians can then proceed to the elevators on the top floor of the Parking Structure.
Parking shuttle service will be provided from Upper Campus (main campus). Shuttle buses are wheelchair accessible and run a continuous route from the Biomedical Science Building to Krauss Circle, where riders may exit and walk to Lower Campus at the traffic light and crosswalk located between the Law School Library and Law School.
All stops along its route will be marked with the RAINBOW SHUTTLE STOP signs. Stops along the shuttle route are:
- Biomedical Science Building
- Moore Hall
- Kennedy Theatre
- Physical Science Building
- Art Building
- Krauss Circle (exit here to walk across Dole Street to Lower Campus)
- Kuykendall Hall
- Watanabe Hall
- Jefferson Hall
- Center for Korean Studies
- Biomedical Science Building
For shuttle return trips throughout Upper Campus (main campus), passengers may board the shuttles at Krauss Circle and will be dropped off at routes along the way.
Authorized lei vendors will be set up on Lower Campus between the Parking Structure and Tennis Courts.
There will be a live webcast of the Commencement ceremony at https://manoa.hawaii.edu/commencement. The ceremony webcast will remain available on the website until May 2015.
For more information on the webcast, and other details about the Commencement ceremony, see https://manoa.hawaii.edu/commencement/.