Edi students have started a petition to overturn the decision to cancel in-person graduation

A group of Edinburgh students have started a petition to overturn the cancellation Edi’s in-person graduations for 2021.

Following an email from VP Colm Harmon this week, students were told the disappointing news that “the University has taken the difficult decision to cancel all in-person graduation ceremonies in 2021”.

Jack Manners, and flatmates, George Baverstock, Ben Henderson and Will Kemp have started the Edinburgh Graduation Campaign, a Facebook page dedicated to ensuring that the university guarantee their promise of a postponed in-person graduation ceremony.

The Tab Edinburgh spoke to Jack, on why he wanted to launch the campaign. “The Vice-Principle had initially said they had cancelled in-person graduations for 2021 stating that that they would be replaced by virtual ones. This prompted to launch the campaign to guarantee students the option of physical graduations.

We were really disappointed by the initial decision. Having worked so hard for the past year in the most unusual circumstances it felt premature and unsympathetic. There didn’t seem to be any reason why they couldn’t be delayed until they can safely operate and offer virtual graduations to those who would prefer them. However we are happy to see that the University has since clarified on their website basically saying that they committed to doing in person graduations when the can.”

The University of Edinburgh’s website states that, “When it is safe to do so, we will invite you to celebrate your achievement with us. How and when events will take place in the future is dependent on a number of factors, especially Scottish Government guidance. Once the situation is clearer, we will share plans with you.”

The goal of the Edinburgh Graduation Campaign is as follows. “We are now seeking guarantees from the University to ensure this takes place and the implementation of an independent committee to oversee the graduations of past students. Having been made aware of the lack of communication between the university and the class of 2020, we think this is vital to ensure there is an up to date dialogue for former students on the state of their graduations.

“We have been overwhelmed with how quickly the Facebook group has grown, which really reflects the wide-spread disappointment at the issue. I really hope we can convince the uni to guarantee graduations for everyone. We have set out 6 conditions which can be seen on our petition as which we believe will protect graduations for both UK based students and international students, as well as both classes (2020 and 2021) who have been affected.”

To get involved, you can join the public Facebook group or follow them on Twitter for more updates.

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