ORONO, Maine — The University of Maine’s 210th Commencement will be Saturday, May 5. Also beginning that day are the America East Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and university police expect traffic to be heavy.
Commencement, which is one of Maine’s largest single-day indoor annual events, features ceremonies at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. in Harold Alfond Sports Area to award undergraduate and graduate degrees to students graduating from Maine’s flagship university.
The Track and Field Championships, May 5-6, will feature athletes from the nine America East schools competing in Harold Alfond Stadium.
The UMaine Police Department is reminding motorists that traffic on Saturday will be heavier than usual in the Orono area.
Anyone attending commencement should plan to arrive early, UMaine said in a press release. Doors open at 8 a.m.
Shuttle buses will provide transportation to Alfond Arena from the Steam Plant parking lot, the Belgrade parking lot, the Collins Center for the Arts parking lot and the Hilltop parking lot.
In addition, for those who opt to park in Orono on May 5, the Black Bear Orono Express Shuttle will run two buses, making a complete route every 15 minutes on campus, including a stop on Gym Drive.
Vehicles with handicapped plates or placards can be parked in the satellite lot behind Alfond Arena. There will be a designated handicapped drop-off area on the side of the Alfond Arena, where University Volunteer Ambulance personnel will be available to assist attendees.
In Alfond Arena, backpacks and strollers are prohibited, according to UMaine police.
The commencement floor level is not accessible by spectators for any purpose, including photos, UMaine said.
The ceremonies will be broadcast on video monitors in Memorial Gym in the event that Alfond Arena reaches its legally allowable capacity.
Visitors are reminded that the University of Maine is a tobacco-free campus, the press release said.
Congrats to the idiots who scheduled the America East for the same day as the two Commencement ceremonies. Traffic is always a mess for graduation, but now it will be a nightmare. Brilliant planning. But then, given UMaine’s elevation of athletics over academics, no surprise. Maybe Commencements should have been cancelled to satisfy UMaine’s athletics.
This was an America East decision a long time ago. Maine is on a four year rotation to host with three other schools. It is also a two-day event at UM.
Well, it was a joke for Friday’s reception honoring the graduate students after their hooding ceremony. Nothing like being in the field house for a reception with half-naked athletes stretching and sweating it up and running around the track. Bunyan1 has it right: athletics at UMaine is a $9/million a year money pit that should be spent on academic infrastructure.
Without UM athletics the university’s national recognition/exposure would be way down. Many people learn about these schools because athletics is free promotion for the school. Anything to make money and get exposure. I don’t see other departments at Maine make money back like athletics do.