Commencement Guests

Event Admission Policy

Please help us make our large events as healthy and safe as possible. All on-campus activities are subject to the Salem State University health and safety protocols. Please be aware that protocols may be adjusted due to changing circumstances. If needed, updated protocols would be found on the Salem State website. At this time our university events are mask flexible and we encourage our participants to follow public health guidance to protect yourself and others.

Students and/or guests experiencing symptoms on the day of the event are expected to access testing and not to come to campus and to stream the event online if they test positive or need to care for their health. If anyone has mild symptoms and has tested negative for COVID we encourage them to participate remotely or wear a high quality mask if they participate in person.

By attending you attest that you and all individuals in your party:

• Have not tested positive for COVID or been told to isolate within the past 5 days.
• Will mask if you’ve been diagnosed with COVID within the past 10 days and have not had 2 negative rapid COVID test results, 48 hours apart.

All family members and guests must have a valid bar-coded ticket to be admitted to the O’Keefe Sports Complex, including all children and guests with disability seating requests. There will be no exceptions. The arena will open one hour prior to each ceremony.

NOTE:

• To exit the arena before the ceremony concludes, all guests must present their ticket. Guests must show the same ticket for re-entry. No exceptions will be made.
• Regardless of the weather, guests are strongly encouraged to wear coats and dress in layers as the main garage doors will remain open during the ceremonies to increase air flow in the arena.
• Any guest who arrives once the ceremony is in progress will have restricted seating options and may be directed to the upper level of the arena.
• Please be aware that all bags are subject to inspection prior to admittance.

Satellite Viewing

During commencement ceremonies, a non-ticketed, family friendly satellite viewing location will be available on nearby North Campus. Limited seating is available in air-conditioned Veterans Hall in the Ellison Campus Center, the satellite viewing area. Guests can see students graduate through the same big screen image that’s shown in the O’Keefe arena. After students cross the stage, guests from satellite seating can meet graduates on the athletic field where the recessional ends, even before guests in the arena are able to exit the building. The ceremony will also be available via webcast. 

Graduates or Guests with Disabilities

Individuals needing accommodations for accessibility, such as sign language interpreters, wheelchair access, ground level seating, will be able to request this service through the ticket reservation process. For more information, contact disability services at commencement-access@salemstate.edu or 978.542.6217 (TTY: 978.542.7146) (video phone: 978.910.0167) or visit the Frederick E. Berry Library and Learning Commons, room G20, no later than Monday, May 1, 2023.

Guests Seeking Language Support

During the ceremonies, staff who speak Spanish and Portuguese will be wearing buttons to make themselves visible and accessible to guests who could use language support. Please email commencement@salemstate.edu to let us know that members of your party would like assistance from one of the Spanish or Portuguese-speaking staff members at the ceremony, so that we may prepare staffing accordingly. Look for the buttons these staff members will be wearing when you arrive.

Parking

Degree candidates and guests with commencement tickets will be able to park in all available university parking lots. Prior to coming to the ceremony, please review the commencement parking map.

Guest Ticket Reminders

• Any person entering the arena must present a ticket for admittance, including all children and guests with disability seating requests.
• The unique bar code on each ticket allows only one entry to the event. The first copy of an e-ticket (if there are multiple copies made) to arrive at the event will gain entry after scanning and validation. If additional copies of a ticket are presented, that individual will be denied entry.
• Tickets are non-replaceable if lost or stolen and should be handled as you would any other valuable or cash. In addition, the sale of commencement tickets is prohibited.
• Tickets need to be printed in actual size and only one ticket on an 8.5” x 11” piece of paper.
• If you try to shrink/enlarge the ticket size the barcode will not scan at the door and it will delay your entry to the venue.
• Please print tickets on white paper using sufficient toner to avoid delays in scanning your tickets.

Accommodations

There are many places to stay in and around Salem. Be sure to ask about discounts for guests visiting for Salem State commencement festivities. For a complete listing of area accommodations visit http://salem.org/stay/, contact commencement@salemstate.edu or call 978.542.4723 for more information.

Decorum

We ask for your cooperation before, during and after the ceremony in helping us to present a program to your family and friends of which we can all be proud. Please remain in your seats until all graduates have received their diplomas and the ceremony is concluded.

Photography

A commercial photographer with a special high-speed camera will take two pictures of each student, 1) posed, prior to them crossing the stage, and 2) on the stage with the University President or Provost. A few weeks prior to commencement, degree candidates will receive detailed information from the photographer. For more information, contact Grad Images, the professional photographer on site, at 800.261.2576, online at www.gradimages.com, or by email at ecc.giservice@gradimages.net with any questions. After the ceremony, photographers will also move among the guests and graduates to take candid photographs.

No private photographers will be allowed on the floor or near the stage.

Tobacco

Salem State University is a tobacco-free campus.

Social Media

Share your graduation excitement – join the conversation at #SalemState22!

Bookstore

Commencement flowers and t-shirts may be ordered through the university bookstore. All online orders will be available for pickup on site the day of the graduation. To retrieve your order, please stop by our booth located conveniently at the entrance to the graduation before the ceremony begins. Order gifts for graduation.