Fleetwood Graduation Moved to Kutztown University

Unlike any other class at Fleetwood, the graduating class of 2016 will have its graduation at Kutztown University. Graduation has been a growing concern within Fleetwood. In the past, it has been held in the auditorium with overflow seats being provided in the gymnasium, where the ceremony was projected on screens.

The ceremony will be held in the Keystone Hall. The main gymnasium is able to hold 4,000 people. After the ceremony, graduates will move to the O’Pake Fieldhouse, where they can meet with friends, family members, and teachers.

The size of the class of 2016 compared to that of previous classes happens to be one of the main reasons why this decision was made. There are around 250 people in the class of 2016, which is a substantially larger amount than in previous classes.

The major concern of the class was the amount of tickets each student would receive for seats. In previous years, students received about 4-7 tickets and were allowed unlimited overflow in the gymnasium. With the current number of students in the high school venue, each student would only get 3-4 tickets and would still have unlimited seating within the gymnasium.

Now that the location has moved to KU, seating will no longer be a problem. Students now receive seven to eight tickets as compared to the three to four they would have received had the ceremony been held at Fleetwood; however, overflow seating will no longer be available.

This information was presented to the graduating class in a class meeting at the beginning of the school year. Kirby Barnett, class co-adviser, and Principal Stephen Herman were instrumental in gathering information. Mr. Barnett, along with the class officers, visited KU where they ultimately decided to present the idea to the rest of the class.

Mr. Barnett presented a PowerPoint outlining the details, and the class then voted based on a show of hands. The vote never carried on into a ballot because it was clear that the majority were in favor of KU.