Delta College announced Tuesday that graduates will once again receive five commencement tickets each after previously reducing ticket allotments to three, then increasing them to four amid student backlash over seating limitations.
In an email sent at 5:10 p.m., the college said changes to commencement logistics will create additional seating inside Adventist Health Arena for guests.
“We’re happy to share that the changes announced in this email will allow us to distribute additional tickets,” the college wrote. “Graduates will now be eligible for a total of five (5) tickets each.”
Under the new plan, graduates will first report to Stockton Civic Auditorium before walking in procession to the arena ahead of the May 14 ceremony. Delta officials said moving student staging outside the arena created additional seating capacity while accommodating what the college described as a record number of graduates this year.
Delta currently has about 1,250 graduates who have RSVP’d to participate in commencement, according to Director of Marketing and Communications Alex Breitler. By comparison, fewer than 900 graduates RSVP’d at the same point last year.
“We simply could not anticipate such a significant increase in the number of graduates who want to participate in Commencement this year,” Breitler said.
Breitler said the college had explored alternative staging options over the past several weeks after concerns emerged that housing graduates inside the arena before the ceremony reduced available seating for guests.
“Many of our students are the first in their families to graduate from college, and it’s very important that we allow as many people as possible to attend and witness this monumental event in their lives,” Breitler said.
Students are asked to arrive at the Civic Auditorium by 4:15 p.m. on commencement day. Stockton police will temporarily close Fremont Street while graduates walk the roughly two-block route to the arena before the ceremony begins. The college also advised graduates not to bring bags, as they will not be permitted inside the arena or stored at the auditorium.
The announcement marks the latest change in Delta’s commencement planning after weeks of student frustration over ticket availability and venue capacity. The college first reduced tickets from five to three April 21, citing a 144 percent increase in graduates planning to participate, before increasing the allotment to four tickets two days later following a reconfiguration of the ceremony layout.
Breitler said the college does not currently anticipate additional changes to ticket allocations before commencement.
