SUNY Oneonta grads walk off into future
May 21—More than 1,000 people gathered on the upper SUNY Oneonta quad Friday afternoon for the college's biannual Pass Through the Pillars tradition.
On the day before Commencement, seniors at SUNY Oneonta walk through a pair of brick-red pillars, a school tradition dating back to 2004.
During freshman year, before classes begin, incoming students enter campus through these same pillars — the sole remaining pieces of Old Main, the first building on the SUNY Oneonta campus. Seniors face uphill, symbolically exiting campus through the pillars as they prepare to graduate. Old Main stood at the top of Maple Street, next to Bugbee Hall. It was razed in 1977, and the pillars relocated to the quad in 1980, according to a history on the college's website.
On Friday, following a commencement rehearsal, most of the 1,100 students set to graduate on Saturday, May 21, lined up on the quad. Groups of friends then walked up a flight of steps and through the pillars as a crowd of about 300 friends, faculty and family members cheered them on from the hillside above.
Provost Richie Lee noted there were more parents present than ever — "it's their support system for what's the most bizarre period in higher education."
Some students paused to revel in the moment, while others paused for selfies. A number of students held hands as they walked through. Sean Zenker, a biology major from Lindenhurst, on Long Island, did a standing flip before going between the pillars. Cheyenne Vereen walked with three friends, carrying a camera and tripod. Ryan Mastrelli, a music industry major who served as the programming director at WONY, the student radio station, walked calmly while the student behind him pumped his hands in the air.
Mastrelli's parents, Scott and Loyda, stood in a crowd of parents and relatives cheering with enthusiasm. Scott Mastrelli filmed with a cell phone while shaking a plastic clapper noisemaker with his second hand. "It's unbelievable, four years went really quickly," he said. "Ryan is legally blind, so he overcame a lot of challenges. And he's graduating magna cum laude."
After the pillars, students, staff and visitors crowded the quad where they were served champagne in red plastic tumblers. Nearby stood a table with platters of cheese and chocolate-covered strawberries, the chocolate melting into puddles as the sun shone down.
College President Alberto Cardelle stood on a landing with Jillian Martelle, president of the senior class, as they waited to give two short speeches.
Cardelle said he wanted to congratulate the students for completing their education. "A lot of people have invested in their education, including themselves. We need them to continue being engaged in society and the globe, to make it a better place."
Martelle said the past two weeks had felt surreal, and the past four years had been unique for her class. "We got our full freshman year, and we got our full senior year, but the two years in between were definitely kinda hectic, crazy, a new experience for everyone," she said. "If you made really good bonds your freshman year, those people stuck with you through those times when you had to go home."
"I think there's a real sense that this has been a real accomplishment for this particular class," Cardelle said.
Martelle thought the college experience has been more difficult for the students who arrived in the middle of the COVID pandemic.
As Cardelle started his speech, Vereen posed for photos with Red, the SUNY Oneonta dragon mascot. "It's bittersweet," she said. "Even though I'm excited to leave and move on to better things, I'm sad to leave Oneonta and friends."
Nearby, Logan Bowers of Nassau County raised glasses for a toast with friends. She said she was grateful to those friends for getting her through the bad times. "I feel like I didn't learn much online during the pandemic," she said. "On to the next chapter!"
Cardelle announced that this year the college had created a new award, the Pillar Award, in which students nominated employees who were pillars in their education. There were 47 recipients this year. A celebration for all the awardees was planned last week but had to be canceled because of a surge in COVID cases.
The new awards were proposed by math professor Toke Knudsen. The idea was to give graduating seniors a chance "to acknowledge and articulate a relationship that's been meaningful" for them at the institution, he said. "With COVID, it's a way to connect again with the community. I hoped it is something that could bring us together again."
Mike Forster Rothbart, staff writer, can be reached at mforsterrothbart@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7213.
