In case you missed it, you can also watch a recording of our Graduating Badger Family Forum where we share ceremony information, career tips, and how students can stay connected to UW after graduation.

Top 5 Things to Know:

1. The ceremony for Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Law Degree candidates will take place on Saturday, May 11, 2024 at noon at Camp Randall Stadium. Guests, family members and friends are welcome to attend! There is no ticketing for attendance and seating is general admission, first come, first served.
2. Gates open at 10:00 a.m. and the ceremony typically lasts approximately two hours. A livestream of the ceremony will be available on YouTube.
3. If you or your graduate need accommodations, please email accessibility@chancellor.wisc.edu. Additional information is also available on the Camp Randall accessibility page.
4. The graduate entrance is located at Gate 5 (the student gate for football games) of Camp Randall Stadium. Graduate seating is arranged by school, college and degree type. No guests, including children (except children of nursing parents) are permitted in the candidate seating area. Please review the carry-in policy as well as the metal detector procedures to plan accordingly. Flowers are allowed inside Camp Randall, however glass containers, balloons, backpacks, and wrapped gifts are not allowed.
5. Complimentary parking is available in several campus parking lots on commencement weekend. Please visit the commencement parking page for more information.

Graduate To-Dos:

1. Capture the moment: Students can have their photo taken at some of the most iconic locations on campus, from Alumni Park to the Camp Randall Arch to Bascom Hill. Formal portrait sessions are also available – encourage your student schedule their photo session.
2. Reserve your cap and gown: To participate in the ceremony, all graduates must wear academic regalia and should order their cap and gown today through the University Book Store.
3. Find your seat: Check out the graduate seating map to find where your student will be seated during the ceremony. Seating is first come, first served. For accessibility accommodations, please email
   accessibility@chancellor.wisc.edu to make arrangements for a celebratory experience.
4. Update your home address: Diplomas will be mailed out to graduates six to eight weeks after grades are entered. To ensure that diplomas are mailed to the correct address, students should update their home address in MyUW.
5. Get ready to celebrate: Join fellow graduates in celebration! Check to see when the celebration event for your student’s school, college, department, or program will be hosted.

You can view a complete graduate checklist on the commencement website.

Meet the Spring Commencement Speaker:

Meghan Duggan, Olympian and Badger legend, will deliver the keynote address during the Spring 2024 Commencement at Camp Randall. Read the announcement.

A Look Back, Senior Prom:

Four years after the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the UW–Madison Senior Class Office announced the 2024 Senior Prom to give back to seniors what the pandemic had taken away. More than 1,000 showed up. “This prom was more significant than any high school prom could have been for us; it felt like a true celebration of class togetherness and putting the negative effects of the pandemic behind us,” writes senior MK Denton, who photographed the event.

Questions?

The Parent and Family Program is here to help! You can also visit the commencement website for more details and sign-up for ceremony updates.

One prominent example is the Mifflin Street Block Party (Mifflin), an off-campus event on the last Saturday of April. This event is not university-sanctioned, and most students choose not to attend. However, for those who do, we are concerned about risks to student and community safety. Past events have brought about property damage, increased reports of sexual assault, use of weapons, and overconsumption of alcohol and other drugs.

You likely talked with your student about alcohol before they entered college, but it is important to keep an open dialogue and check in regularly—a series of smaller conversations can be more productive than one large talk. High-risk drinking events like Mifflin give you an opportunity to re-open this conversation with your student about alcohol use, regardless of whether they choose to drink.

Conversation Tips – Alcohol

It is normal to want to find common ground with your student around difficult topics like alcohol use. Comments like, “Hangovers are part of the college experience,” can unintentionally glamorize or normalize alcohol use. The college landscape around alcohol is evolving—our recent data shows that 40% of incoming first-year students have not used alcohol in the past year, and it is important to emphasize these changing norms with students.

Start the conversation with an open question:

• I heard that there is a large off-campus event this weekend. If you’re planning to attend, do you have a plan to keep yourself safe?
• What will you do if you feel pressure to drink or are offered a drink and don’t want one?
• How do you check-in with yourself and your friends to ensure everyone is feeling okay with a situation?

Provide statements of support to your student:

• I know that the end of the semester can be a stressful time. I hope you feel that you can take care of yourself—it’s okay to skip a party or take some time to rest.
• You have told me before that you sometimes don’t like to be around large parties or drinking events. You are welcome at home anytime this spring if you want a chance to get away and rest up before finals.

Keeping Students Safe

Madison Police are present at Mifflin to enforce laws and ordinances by ticketing and arresting participants, in addition to transporting incapacitated individuals to detox facilities. On campus, University officials implement additional rules to keep students safe, such as by prohibiting outside visitors to residence halls over that weekend.

Even as the University and the City of Madison take steps to protect students and community members, it is important to emphasize to students that they are also responsible for looking out for one another. In your conversations, discuss how their decisions around alcohol affect not only their own health and safety but also that of those around them.

One significant concern is the connection between high-risk alcohol use to sexual assault. While alcohol alone does not cause sexual violence, it is often used as an excuse for a lack of consent communication, using coercion, and crossing boundaries. Most sexual assaults on campus involve alcohol, and most sexual assaults occur between people who know one another. This is a time to help students consider their role in creating an environment of respect and consent at UW-Madison by ensuring they are honoring others’ boundaries and not making assumptions about what someone else is comfortable with.

Conversation Tips – Safety

When talking about safety, focus on self-care, resources, and resilience instead of warnings or fear-based tactics. Even if you are worried for your student, this is an opportunity to talk about how they can exercise their independence while also taking care of themselves and others.

Start the conversation with an open question:

• How would you talk to a friend if you saw them acting disrespectfully or pressuring someone, especially if they’ve been drinking?
• How do you know if someone wants the same thing as you in a romantic or sexual situation? How is this different when alcohol is involved?

Provide statements of support to your student:

• I hope you feel like you can trust your instincts and act if a situation feels dangerous.
• No one has the right to cross your boundaries or push you further than you want. This is something you can always talk to me about.
• If you’re worried about someone’s safety, remember that Amnesty Through Responsible Action ensures both the student incapacitated by alcohol or drugs and the student calling on their behalf do not receive disciplinary actions, sanctions, or citations.

Resources and Support

For more information on having conversations with your student about important health topics—including alcohol use, sexual violence, and mental health—please refer to the Navigating College Culture handbook.

Un ejemplo destacado es la Mifflin Street Block Party (Mifflin), un evento fuera del campus que se celebra el último sábado de abril. Este evento no está autorizado por la universidad y la mayoría de los estudiantes optan por no asistir. Sin embargo, en el caso de aquellos que sí lo hacen, nos preocupan los riesgos respecto a la seguridad de los estudiantes y de la comunidad. En eventos anteriores se han producido daños materiales, han aumentado las denuncias de agresiones sexuales, uso de armas y consumo excesivo de alcohol y otras drogas.

Probablemente habló con su hijo/a sobre el alcohol antes de que ingresara a la universidad, pero es importante mantener un diálogo abierto y platicar con regularidad: una serie de conversaciones más breves pueden ser más productivas que una charla larga. Los eventos de consumo de alcohol de alto riesgo, como la Mifflin, le brindan la oportunidad de reabrir esta conversación con su hijo/a sobre el consumo de alcohol, independientemente de que decida beber o no.

Consejos de conversación: alcohol

Es normal querer encontrar puntos en común con su hijo/a sobre temas difíciles como el consumo de alcohol. Comentarios como “Las resacas son parte de la experiencia universitaria” pueden, sin quererlo, glorificar o normalizar el consumo de alcohol. El panorama universitario en torno al alcohol está evolucionando: nuestros datos recientes muestran que el 40 % de los estudiantes que ingresan al primer año no han consumido alcohol en el último año, y es importante enfatizar estas normas cambiantes con los estudiantes.

Inicie la conversación con una pregunta abierta:

• Escuché que hay un gran evento fuera del campus este fin de semana. Si planeas asistir, ¿tienes un plan para mantenerte seguro/a?
• ¿Qué harás si te sientes presionado/a a beber o si te ofrecen una bebida y no la quieres?
• ¿Cómo te controlas a ti mismo/a y te comunicas con tus amigos para asegurarte de que todos se sientan bien con una situación?

Ofrezca declaraciones de apoyo a su hijo/a:

• Sé que el final del semestre puede ser un momento estresante. Espero que sientas que puedes cuidar de ti mismo/a; está bien faltar a una fiesta o tomarte un tiempo para descansar.
• Ya me has dicho que a veces no te gusta estar en fiestas grandes o eventos donde se bebe. Puedes venir a casa en cualquier momento esta primavera si quieres escaparte y descansar antes de los exámenes finales.

Mantener seguros a los estudiantes

La policía de Madison está presente en la Mifflin para hacer cumplir las leyes y ordenanzas, multando y arrestando a los participantes, además de transportar personas intoxicadas a instalaciones de desintoxicación. En el campus, los funcionarios de la Universidad implementan reglas adicionales para mantener seguros a los estudiantes, como prohibir visitantes externos a las residencias universitarias durante ese fin de semana.

Aunque la Universidad y la ciudad de Madison tomen medidas para proteger a los estudiantes y a los miembros de la comunidad, es importante recalcar a los estudiantes que ellos también son responsables de cuidarse unos a otros. En sus conversaciones, platique cómo sus decisiones en torno al alcohol afectan no solo su propia salud y seguridad, sino también la de quienes los rodean.

Una preocupación importante es la conexión entre el consumo de alcohol de alto riesgo y la agresión sexual. Si bien el alcohol por sí solo no es causa de violencia sexual, a menudo se utiliza como excusa para no comunicar el consentimiento, recurrir a la coacción y traspasar los límites. La mayoría de las agresiones sexuales en el campus involucran alcohol y ocurren entre personas que se conocen. Este es un momento para ayudar a los estudiantes a considerar su papel en la creación de un entorno de respeto y consentimiento en UW-Madison, asegurándose de que respeten los límites de los demás y que no hagan suposiciones sobre con qué se siente cómoda otra persona.

Consejos de conversación: seguridad

Cuando hable de seguridad, céntrese en el cuidado personal, los recursos y la resiliencia en lugar de advertencias o tácticas basadas en el miedo. Incluso si está preocupado por su hijo/a, esta es una oportunidad para hablar sobre cómo puede ejercer su independencia y al mismo tiempo cuidar de sí mismo/a y de los demás.

Inicie la conversación con una pregunta abierta:

• ¿Cómo hablarías con un amigo si lo vieras actuando de manera irrespetuosa o presionando a alguien, especialmente si ha estado bebiendo?
• ¿Cómo sabes si alguien quiere lo mismo que tú en una situación romántica o sexual? ¿Qué diferencia hay cuando hay alcohol de por medio?

Ofrezca declaraciones de apoyo a su hijo/a:

• Espero que sientas que puedes confiar en tus instintos y actuar si una situación te parece peligrosa.
• Nadie tiene derecho a cruzar tus límites ni a empujarte más allá de lo que deseas. Es algo de lo que siempre puedes hablarme.
• Si te preocupa la seguridad de alguien, recuerda que Amnesty Through Responsible Action (Amnistía a través de una acción responsable) garantiza que tanto el estudiante incapacitado por alcohol o drogas como el estudiante que llama en su nombre no reciban acciones disciplinarias, sanciones o citaciones.

Recursos y soporte

 Para obtener más información sobre cómo conversar con su hijo/a sobre temas de salud importantes, incluido el consumo de alcohol, la violencia sexual y la salud mental, consulte el Navigating College Culture handbook (Manual de navegación por la cultura universitaria).