Commencement Day Guide

Commencement Site

• The university will hold its undergraduate commencement at the Total Mortgage Arena, 600 Main Street, Bridgeport, beginning with an academic procession at 10:15 a.m.
• Located about 30 minutes from campus, the arena is easily accessible from I-95 and the Merritt Parkway. Due to the likelihood of rush-hour traffic on I-95, please allow yourself extra time to arrive at the arena, consider carpooling and use the Merritt Parkway, if possible. View Commencement Directions and Parking (pdf)
• The indoor arena is fully air-conditioned and can seat up to 8,000 guests. It is wheelchair-accessible and will provide services for guests with disabilities.
• For friends and family who are unable to attend, the ceremony will be livestreamed on Southern’s YouTube Channel.
• All guests are required to have a ticket.
• All guest seating is unreserved.

Parking and Arrival

• Parking is available in the lots and garages surrounding the arena (see map). Because more than 8,000 people are expected to attend the ceremony, all graduating seniors, together with families and friends, are asked to arrive at the parking lots before 9 a.m.
• Expect traffic delays, so plan extra travel time. To alleviate traffic congestion, students and families are encouraged to travel together or car pool. Persons with state-issued handicapped parking permits may park in the handicapped parking areas of the garage or as directed by traffic personnel.
• Audience seating in the arena and the graduate procession assembly area opens at 8:15 a.m.
• Ticketed guests will enter the arena through the front entrance. Seating is unreserved, and all attendees must present a valid guest ticket to obtain entry.
• All rules and security regulations of the arena apply to all participants in the commencement ceremony. Please note that oversized bags, helium balloons, and alcoholic beverages are not permitted in the arena. All candidates and guests will be stopped at the doors for a security check.
• Please note that there will be no specific health and safety protocols in place at the event. The wearing of masks is optional. Vaccinations and booster shots are strongly encouraged.

Services for Persons with Disabilities and Emergency Services

• The arena is wheelchair-accessible and will provide services for guests with disabilities. These services, available on a first-come, first-served basis, include handicapped parking, wheelchair locations with companion seating, sign language interpreting, and programs in large-print and alternative formats.
• First-aid medical assistance is staffed by EMT professionals. The first-aid station is located on the first floor of the arena below sections 107 and 108.

Attending the Ceremony

• Please silence your cell phone during the ceremony.
• You will not be allowed to take photographs near the stage or in the graduate seating area. The university has arranged for a professional photographer to take photographs of your graduate receiving his or her diploma jacket on stage. The photographer will contact students before the ceremony about these photographs.
• For your own safety, and the safety of people sitting near you, do not stand on chairs during the ceremony. Out of respect for the graduates, you are asked to remain seated until everyone has received his or her degree and marched out of the arena at the end of the ceremony. Students who have chosen to participate in the ceremony will not be allowed to leave early. Out of respect for all of the graduates, please plan to stay for the entire ceremony.

Memorabilia / Gifts and Family Photographs

• Student organizations, the university bookstore, and the SCSU Alumni Association will be on site offering students and their guests the opportunity to purchase flowers and other merchandise. Please consider supporting their efforts, as proceeds from sales benefit student clubs. After the ceremony there will also be opportunities to take photographs with graduates at SCSU-themed backdrops on the concourse or outside the arena. And check https://www.southernct.edu/commencement for photos, videos and other highlights following the event.

Getting to the Commencement Site

• The university will hold its undergraduate commencement at the Total Mortgage Arena, 600 Main Street, Bridgeport, CT., beginning with an academic procession at 10:15 a.m.
• Located about 30 minutes from campus, the arena is easily accessible from I-95 and the Merritt Parkway. Due to the likelihood of rush-hour traffic on I-95, please allow yourself extra time to arrive at the arena, consider carpooling and use the Merritt Parkway, if possible. View Commencement Directions and Parking (pdf)
• The University will provide shuttle service from campus to the Total Mortgage Arena for faculty and staff participating in the commencement ceremony.

Parking and Arrival

• Ample parking is available in the lots and parking garages surrounding the arena (see map). Because more than 8,000 people are expected to attend the ceremony, faculty are asked to arrive at the parking lots by 9 a.m.
• Expect traffic delays, so plan extra travel time. To alleviate traffic congestion, students and families are encouraged to travel together or car pool. Persons with state-issued handicapped parking permits may park in the handicapped parking areas of the garage or as directed by traffic personnel.
• The procession assembly area opens at 8:15 a.m.

Academic Procession and Ceremony

• Faculty members planning to march in the undergraduate commencement academic procession should assemble in the arena parking garage lower level beginning at 8:45 a.m. and no later than 9:45 a.m.
• The faculty procession must begin promptly at 10:15 a.m. so that commencement can start at 10:30 a.m.
• Ticketed guests of graduates will enter the arena through the front entrance beginning at 8:15 a.m. No guests will be allowed into the assembly area.
• Faculty participants are invited to a light reception following the ceremony.

Your Assistance, Please

As a faculty member, please help us reinforce the need for proper decorum and good behavior by members of the graduating class on commencement day:

• Students are expected to remain until the end of the ceremony. As a courtesy to other graduates waiting to receive their degrees, students should return to their seats after they have been recognized at the ceremony.
• To maintain the dignity of the ceremony, students are asked not to affix large messages to their caps or gowns. The marshals will request that messages be removed from the student’s academic regalia before he or she will be allowed to march in the procession.
• We also want to avoid having students seek special notoriety at the event by indulging in such distractions as blowing bubbles or passing beach balls among the graduates during the ceremony.
• Also, for their own safety and the safety of people sitting near them, we ask students not to stand on chairs during the ceremony.