UT Commencement

[fwtxbevo 91]

Any advice? .....and no, staying at home and watching it on The Longhorn Network is not an option. Thanks!

[dirtonia 269]

Advice about what?

[Walte464 450]

Get there early, take a flask, cheer, have dinner and be in bed by 10. 

[Steel Shank 9421]

Two flasks.

[phdhorn 6224]

Yes, go ahead and graduate.  That would be my advice.

[NBMisha 224]

I was still in my petulant disaffected alienated mode when I graduated, and I skipped the ceremony.  Plus it was hot, and playing dominoes and drinking beer at Posse East seemed a better option.  Then off to CA for a well paying job.  Fuck you, I got mine.

I did attend my son's graduation from UT, (and daughter's from some liberal arts place), and thought it was a good milestone event to mark.  For me, the payee.

Seriously,  consider going. 

[fwtxbevo 91]

My son is the one graduating, so I am looking for advice more in the area of where to park, when to get there, bet places to sit, etc. My 80 year old mom will be with me, so I am trying to do a little advanced planning. You know, insider tips from someone who has been through one before.

[Kennythetiger 9376]

Put her in a wheelchair and wheel her right up to the front.  Don't make eye contact with anyone and act like you know what you're doing.

[Guest Lobo]

It's a tough trade-off in terms of getting there early, because while you'll get their mom there earlier for a good seat, it can be an extra couple of hours for her out in the evening heat.  If it's the two of you (or more), get there early to get seats (60-90 minutes prior to commencement), and then let your mom go inside one of the 6-pack buildings or nearby churches to stay cool/shaded.  And then bring her out as the ceremony begins.  There's really no strategy to where you sit, you won't be able to see your graduate in any way, shape, or form.  So just stick to shade, or an aisle seat for your mom's sake.  Most people enter from the west or southern ends.  

If you donate $200 to UT in anything but athletics, I'll give you my parking pass which will enable you to literally park about 50 feet from the South Mall/6-pack.  No, it's not a handicapped tag.  

[ztejas 43414]

Michael Dell is the speaker. 

Seems a bit... ironic, no?

[dcbc 14465]

Going this year.  My niece (Engineering/Plan II/Smarter than I).  Winging it.  Family is staying at AT&T (booked a year ago).  So I figure I'll have a pregame location Friday night, Saturday morning, and Saturday night.

[fwtxbevo 91]

On ‎5‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 1:59 PM, Lobo said:

It's a tough trade-off in terms of getting there early, because while you'll get their mom there earlier for a good seat, it can be an extra couple of hours for her out in the evening heat.  If it's the two of you (or more), get there early to get seats (60-90 minutes prior to commencement), and then let your mom go inside one of the 6-pack buildings or nearby churches to stay cool/shaded.  And then bring her out as the ceremony begins.  There's really no strategy to where you sit, you won't be able to see your graduate in any way, shape, or form.  So just stick to shade, or an aisle seat for your mom's sake.  Most people enter from the west or southern ends.  

If you donate $200 to UT in anything but athletics, I'll give you my parking pass which will enable you to literally park about 50 feet from the South Mall/6-pack.  No, it's not a handicapped tag.  

Thanks for the great advice and taking the time to post this.

[dcbc 14465]

Okay, so here's a post game write-up, which hopefully will help people decide one way to plan for next year.  I just went to Engineering, Plan II, and the main graduation for my niece.  And my nearly 80 year old mother was there, too.  I hate having to worry about parking, but we were able to do things with relative ease this weekend.

1.  If you have someone elderly coming with you or just want to have no issues parking and be super close to the events all weekend, book a room at the AT&T Conference Center today.  My sister booked her room for her and my mom last May as part of a block, and it was money well spent for the parking alone.  More on this later.

2.  If you have an elderly person, get them to bring the handicap placard.  That thing was the golden ticket for the Erwin Center on Friday night (an absolute zoo and we rolled right up to the front door) and for Hogg on Saturday morning (parked out front).

3.  If you aren't staying close, and have a ceremony that starts somewhat late, park downtown around 17th and walk or come early and use the free garages near the Erwin Center.  But for anything that requires the Erwin Center, you may as well just show up when it starts because you will be there for hours.  That was the worst traffic we encountered all weekend.  We had zero issues Saturday morning or Saturday night (see below).

4.  Main graduation.  It's not a football game.  Come late (after 7 p.m., deal with zero traffic, and park on the street on 17th and Lavaca (or near there) for free).  See AT&T Center Advice above above, too.  They have screens everywhere.  There's a bar.  You have to get to that thing so early to sit close, and if you've already sat through a few walks, it's as good to watch the first part on TV.  Also, they aren't checking room keys at AT&T.  Just walk in, walk across the courtyard, grab a drink, and go into the conference center where they are streaming it in the a/c.  After the commencement speaker (Dell this year) is done, take a leisurely stroll toward the main mall.  You'll get about as close as the street by Littlefield without too much trouble, but the better camera shot is by the shrubs in the middle of University Blvd just past the Kappa house.  You'll hear them announce each college,  watch the tower change colors, hear the inspirational part of the UT President's speech as the Eyes plays underneath him (that was the part that choked me up).  Then, the Eyes of Texas kicks in, everybody sings, and the fireworks start (that kicked ass, too). 

5.  I have no regrets not getting there at 5 to fight for a seat in the heat.  The best part is the end, and you can see that from anywhere.  Even if it's your kid, he or she isn't walking across the stage or having his/her name announced.  You can push your way up near Littlefield around 6:30 p.m. if you like and try to wave at them as they walk in.  But from there, retreat to some air conditioning until after the speaker (or park in a lawn chair on University Blvd) and treat it like a tailgate.  Either way, they will find you easily afterward since you will text them your location.  They get the good seats.  You get the fireworks. 

6.  I regret not going to the Main Graduation when I graduated.

Edited May 27, 2019 by dcbc

[LW Goatman 1120]

On 5/10/2019 at 8:43 AM, Kennythetiger said:

Put her in a wheelchair and wheel her right up to the front.  Don't make eye contact with anyone and act like you know what you're doing.

This shit works at Disney too.

[Guest Lobo]

I know some mid-grade City of Austin/Travis County career nobody took a look at a calendar and saw that final exams ended last Tuesday and thought, "Great, good time to start a major road construction project on Lavaca AND Guadalupe at MLK with serious disruptions."  Those two intersections brought such unnecessary and insane havoc to the graduation weekend.  Could have just as easily started today with the exact same end dates and safety protocol.  But there is no greater honor than service to the state. 

The State.  The State.  The State.  

Between the myriad colleges and schools doing their own thing plus the UT-wide commencement...who looks at that and says, "50k people, mainly unfamiliar with our roads.  Plus a holiday weekend.  Plus no construction will actually take place Friday-Tuesday.  Let's shut it all down Thursday for no particular reason other than my individual brilliance."???

 

No cloak room, but it was stupidity rarely achieved even by the best and dullest at muni government.