Graduation Week

One unique season we have here in West Campus is graduation week. As UT students finish their finals, the first signs of transition start to appear.

Ah, the sights of the season…

Worn couches and mattresses begin to bloom next to overflowing dumpsters. Trash cans explode with soggy Amazon boxes, broken plastic hangers and hamburger wrappers. In 2018, the city of Austin started the West Campus Re(Move) & Re(Use) initiative to try to keep salvageable items from ending up in landfills. Every form of U-Haul, trailer, car and scooter is loaded with possessions as undergraduates ferry belongings to their permanent homes or to new apartments a few blocks away, preparing for summer classes or the next school year. A spotty soundtrack comes from random afternoon and weeknight parties thrown during the break in classes.

Your grandpa can’t park here.

Friday morning, the individual colleges start their commencement ceremonies. The neighborhood is full of students in dress clothes and groups in gowns walking around. Parents and grandparents drive at a snail’s pace, desperately looking for parking while ignoring stop and one-way signs. At 8 am, you’re likely to see a group of guys in caps and gowns holding beers while climbing into an Uber, or two befuddled middle-aged ladies in SUVs having a face-off on a one-way street.

This goes on all day Friday and Saturday, culminating with the week’s main event – the university-wide ceremony Saturday night in front of the Tower. The South Mall fills with graduates and their families excited to hear a famous UT grad speak (Michael Dell this year) with a firework display for a finale.

Just like that, it’s over…

Sunday morning, the tired families load up their cars and trucks to help recent graduates move out of West Campus and scatter off to change the world. Over the next couple of days, the move out and celebration debris is cleaned up by maintenance men and city crews. The neighborhood falls quiet, smothered by the creeping heat and humidity of summer.