Senior Bearkats with May 10, 2003, circled on calendars in anticipation of their spring commencement ceremony, think again.As a result of actions by university President James Gaertner, the Faculty Senate and Academic Policy Council, spring graduation ceremonies have been pushed back one week and are now set to occur May 17.Buzz over the graduation issue began last year when the Faculty Senate submitted a proposal requesting an end to the policy allowing graduating seniors to take finals a week before the rest of the student body. Senate members objected to the policy on the basis that it made scheduling tests difficult and resulted in more work for professors, who often had to create two separate final exams.Dr. Richard Eglsaer, associate vice president for Academic Affairs, said administrators also objected to the early finals policy, feeling it often resulted in not only seniors, but all students getting out of classes early.”We found that instead of giving finals at the designated times, some classes were beginning to give finals to everyone a week early,” Eglsaer said. “We had to find some way to remedy that; it’s just not an academically sound policy.”As a result, the May 10 graduation date, first set by an SHSU calendar committee four years ago, had to be changed to allow seniors to take finals with the rest of the university.”Next semester, seniors will take finals with everyone else and then walk as soon as possible,” Eglsaer said. “At one time we considered having them take finals after commencement ceremonies, but there was a lot of opposition to that from students.”Members of the Academic Policy Council were also concerned that forcing seniors to return to classes the week after commencement might impair performance on remaining exams.”The Senate’s recommendation wanted early graduation, but would have had some seniors taking exams after they graduated,” Faculty Senate Chair Valerie Muehsam said. “The Academic Policy Council adapted our recommendation and changed the date because they were concerned some students might party the weekend after graduation and blow their remaining tests. “That could really hurt a student’s grade point average,” she said. “The deans were trying to look out for students’ interests by having them complete finals with everyone else and then graduate.”Eglsaer said when changing the date, administrators tried to limit the inconvenience for seniors and their families as much as possible.”Obviously, we couldn’t make a change like this for the December commencement,” he said. “We thought if we started it this spring everyone would have at least six months notice to make necessary adjustments to their plans.”Students that will graduate in May have mixed emotions on the issue, some bothered by the change and others predicting it will have little effect on their graduation plans.”I haven’t really thought about it that much. It’s months away so I haven’t made plans for my family to come yet,” said senior kinesiology major Ken Nett. “Sure, it would be nice to have that piece of paper a week earlier, but it really won’t make that much of a difference.””I don’t like it,” senior speech major Tiffany Thomas said. “We used to get out in the beginning of May and now we’ll have to wait until almost the end. I don’t have any plans or anything, but it’s still an inconvenience for us to have to be here longer than we had planned.”For some students, the change is more than a mere inconvenience. Upon hearing the new commencement date, senior agricultural business major Jonathan Jarvis was faced with difficult choice. Come May 17, he can either attend his graduation or his wedding.”We had the wedding date set since February thinking the weekend after graduation would be a good time to get married,” Jarvis said. “I was very surprised they would make a change like this in the middle of the year, only eight months before the ceremony.”Jarvis said he e-mailed Gaertner about the conflict and received and apologetic response. “He said it came about due to faculty dissatisfaction and that they had to change the date,” Jarvis said. “I can see their point on why they changed the policy, but I wish they could have waited a year or two so students wouldn’t already have made plans.”They never said that if they were going to get rid of early senior finals, May 17 would be the alternate date,” he said. “If they had, I could have planned better.”Jarvis said he is certain he is not alone in planning conflicts.”I went to SGA and they said they had already heard of five other weddings that day,” he said. “I also have friends who planned trips leaving May 11, 12 or 13 thinking they would have already graduated.”Eglsaer said while unfortunate, conflicts with the new date were bound to occur.”The policy needed to change,” he said. “Certain scheduling conflicts are unavoidable.”Jarvis said like other students who have weddings, trips or expired leases on apartments, he would not take part in commencement.”I’m either not going to walk or try to work it out so I can walk in August,” Jarvis said. “I think because of this a lot of people will not be walking this year. I think the school is letting a lot of people down.”