Brooklyn College seniors just got the kind of commencement news nobody wants: when they head to Barclays Center on May 28, they will not be walking across the stage. The college told the Class of 2026 this week that there will be no individual stage walks at their graduation, stripping out a milestone many students say they have been waiting their whole lives to experience. The late-breaking announcement, only weeks before the ceremony, has kicked off outrage, online petitions and a flood of social media posts from frustrated seniors.
College officials told CBS News New York that time constraints at Barclays will force the school to skip individual walks for roughly 4,000 students. Instead of every name being called, the college says graduates will be formally recognized by academic discipline. Brooklyn College lists the May 28 program and the Barclays Center location on its Commencement page and explains how that group recognition will work.
Barclays Schedule Crunch Takes Center Stage
According to the school, the ceremony has “a required end time to accommodate another graduation ceremony immediately afterward,” and graduates will be recognized by school rather than called one by one, News 12 Brooklyn reported. The college statement adds that individual stage walks were only offered at a couple of recent ceremonies and were not part of Brooklyn College’s long-standing commencement tradition before 2022.
The back-to-back booking at the arena helps explain that tight cutoff. The CUNY School of Professional Studies has its own commencement set for Barclays on May 28 at 4:30 p.m., according to the CUNY School of Professional Studies graduation information, leaving limited time for Brooklyn College to get thousands of students and their families in and out.
Students Push Back, Call Decision “Heartbreaking”
Students have not been shy about how they feel. Many have called the move disrespectful and out of touch with what the day means to them. “It just shows how the administration has very little care about their students,” senior Magali Ramos said, while another student, Ari, told CBS News New York that not being able to walk felt “heartbreaking.”
Even with the disappointment, several seniors said they still plan to show up and celebrate, focusing on the fact that they made it to graduation at all, even if the classic stroll across the stage is off the table.
Behind the scenes, though, they are organizing. Students have launched multiple online petitions urging the college to restore individual walks. One petition on Change.org shows about 641 verified supporters, while another on Change.org lists more than 500, and both pages continue to be updated by new signers. Local coverage has noted that the petitions have drawn hundreds of signatures as graduates press the administration to rethink the plan.
For now, Brooklyn College says the show will go on as scheduled. The ceremony will proceed with master’s degree candidates presented first, followed by baccalaureate students, and the school is urging graduates to double-check all the logistics before they head to Barclays. The Brooklyn College Commencement checklist lays out arrival times, cap-and-gown distribution details and contact information for the Office of Graduation Initiatives and Commencement Planning.
