Some 2022 Cal State Long Beach students upset about Angel Stadium Graduation
Cal State Long Beach students have created an online petition about their graduation that has more than 4,000 signatures.
LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- 2022 is the second year in a row that graduation for California State University of Long Beach students will take place at Angel Stadium in Anaheim.
Some students from the class of 2022 say this is not what they want.
"Both of my best friends have been to Cal State Fullerton instead. With their recent announcement with their commencement, they're getting to walk and have their names announced on their campus, but I won't get the chance to do that in Long Beach," said Sarah Morales, a CSULB senior.
Students have created an online petition saying they want to cross a stage during the ceremony, have each graduate's name announced and get six to ten tickets per graduate.
Students sent ABC7 screenshots from the school's commencement FAQ page. One says that due to limited time, graduates will not physically walk the stage.
Another screenshot says due to limited time, names will not be announced during the ceremony.
When we checked the FAQ page to find this information, it was not there anymore.
"One of the things I was not expecting to be left out entirely is having our names read out loud and having us walk the stage, which is just something we wait years for, to earn that recognition, to finally have our names read out loud, not just for ourselves. Some of us do it for our families," said Gerardo Casillas, a CSULB senior.
The site does say students can get their names read out loud at smaller graduation recognition stages in the parking lot of the stadium.
When we asked the school to comment on students concerns, we were directed to the commencement website.
We also followed up with the school, asking about the screenshots from students. Officials said the website will be updated on an ongoing basis throughout the spring.
"I'm the last one to graduate from my sisters, so this is the last ceremony that my parents are going to attend and I don't want it to be in a parking lot," said Xiomara Santos, a CSULB senior.
Ticket information for graduates is not available yet.
Follow Jaysha on social media:
Facebook.com/ABC7Jaysha
Twitter.com/abc7jaysha
Instagram.com/abc7jaysha
