When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the University of Regina to suspend all on campus classes back on March 14th, many students knew this year’s convocation ceremony was also in jeopardy.

The cancellation of the 2020 convocation ceremony is now a reality.

For 4th year education student Hannah Norgaard, the cancellation of her spring convocation ceremony is disappointing , but something she and her peers respect and know is necessary.

“I think all of us understand and respect why the university made the decision that they did, Norgaard said. “At the same time we’re hoping that they do decide to hold an event at some point, whether it be in the fall or next winter, just so we get to have that ceremony that so many of us worked years for,” she added.

The university has already let students know that at some point in time they would like to hold a ceremony.

“They’ve told us they want to carry out a ceremony, it might not be as big as the original one would have been, but they do want to share and celebrate our success with us, right now the university is still figuring out when and how they will do that,” said Norgaard.

Norgaard also admitted finishing her final year of university from home is not something she thought would happen, but is something the U of R has made a smooth transition with an app called “ZOOM Cloud Meetings”.

“You get to have something similar to a FaceTime interaction, and that’s how classes are carried out,” Norgaard said. “I had my first  online class this past week and it went smooth, it is a lot different than being face-to-face and in the classroom with your peers and prof, but for the most part you get the information that you need.”

This spring’s convocation ceremony was originally scheduled for June 3rd to 5th.