Students, parents search for limited availability graduation tickets

Tanya Garcia faced a common dilemma for most parents of graduating students: she had only eight tickets to commencement when she needed nine.

But Garcia took an uncommon approach to solve her problem by standing in front of the University Bookstore, holding a sign asking for an extra ticket. Within an hour, she decided to up the ante by offering $100 for the ticket.

Garcia drove from San Diego with her mother to try to find an extra ticket. Her son, Aaron Garcia, is graduating with a degree in business administration after five years at Cal State Long Beach.

“It’s been a long journey for him,” Garcia said. “It’s worth it for me to stand here for one day to get an extra ticket for him.”

Cecile Lindsay, vice provost for academic affairs and dean of graduate studies, said in an email that the limited number of commencement tickets is common at other campuses, such as the University of California, Los Angeles.

Because of the large number of graduates, there is a limit of eight tickets for the College of Health and Human Services, Arts, Liberal Arts and Business Administration, according to the CSULB website. Even small children must have a ticket to attend the ceremony.

“In our larger ceremonies, there are so many graduating students that the number of guests per student must be limited in order for all students and guests to have a pleasant experience,” Lindsay said via email. “Without limits on the number of guests in the venue, there is overcrowding that raises safety concerns.”

There will be several commencement ceremonies during the three-day span starting May 21. The College of Liberal Arts has the highest number of graduates and has three scheduled ceremonies.

Some of the smaller colleges with fewer graduates do not have a ticket limit, including the College of Education, Engineering, and Natural Science and Mathematics.

“For the three small ceremonies on the last day of commencement, tickets are not required,” Lindsay said. “These are very small audiences that can easily be accommodated in the commencement venue.”

In anticipation of overcrowding, some of the lecture halls on upper campus will also stream the ceremony live in air-conditioned rooms. Tickets are not required to watch the live streaming.

Although it is encouraged to seek extra tickets through classmates, CSULB does not authorize the sale of complimentary commencement tickets, according to its website.

If Garcia doesn’t find the extra ticket, she said she has a back-up plan.

“We have a priority list at home,” Garcia said. “Someone will end up staying home.”

For Garcia, the main priority is to see Aaron walk and inspire her younger son to follow in his footsteps.

“If his older brother did it, then he can do it too,” Garcia said.