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PAYAP UNIVERSITY HOLDS A COMMENCEMENT AGAIN After the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted gatherings of all sorts, with the relaxation of regulations in Thailand in effect, Payap University conducted a full-fledged commencement event on the days surrounding November 27, 2022 for both the 44th and 45th graduating classes. The university and several individuals posted pictures on social media which give us a view of commencement traditions here in Thailand. Some of these are not found in Europe or North America. THE MAIN EVENT The commencement service is all about presentation of diplomas. The service began at 6 p.m. after the daily playing of the Thai National Anthem and lowering of the flag. Then the procession began.  At Payap University, owned and operated by the Protestant CHURCH OF CHRIST IN THAILAND FOUNDATION, the commencement service was conducted as a Christian worship service. So, the cross and candle carried by chaplains were at the head of the procession across campus into the Saisantham Arena. The out-going Vice Moderator of the CCT was the first official in the procession, followed by the President of the university and the president of the Board of Trustees and the president of the Support Committee.  Banners for the university and for each of the schools and colleges were carried into the arena and formed a colorful backdrop behind the faculty.   It is customary for the governing boards of universities in Thailand to wear university robes in commencement ceremonies, with 4 arm-bands. The President’s robe has gold embellishments and he is wearing a chain of office. The President of the Board has a white bow on the shoulders. The Chiang Mai Governor or his representative offered congratulations.  Graduate students are seated in front, with undergraduates seated behind precisely in the order in which their names will be called. The service begins with a prayer and then the senior Vice President reads a report on the university’s accomplishments, ending with the number of graduates and this cohort. Deans from each college read the names of the graduates.   At Payap the number of graduates is not massive so there is no sense of urgency. In larger universities the march across the platform is rapid and continuous.   It is essential that the moment the diploma is received be captured on film. Graduation photos are the most important reason for the commencement ceremony, in the minds of most. That is many times more important when a member of royalty is presenting the diplomas. At Payap that role is done by the university president.  Following the presentation of diplomas, the President of the University Board of Trustees gave a charge to the graduates, the Moderator of the CCT gives a blessing, and the head of the student body leads the students in a pledge to uphold the values of their education and of the institution which is not their alma mater.  MUSIC The orchestra of the Payap University College of Music provided the processional and recessional marches. Because of our excellent college, music is featured during commencement.  Throughout the awarding of diplomas, Thai music provided accompaniment.  The choir of the College of Music sang an anthem, and the Royal Anthem.  AUDIENCE Some family members were seated on bleachers in the stadium, but most were outside watching the ceremony on large monitors.  The Department of Communication Arts provided television coverage throughout the evening.  Editing and direction was from a room above the stadium. The commencement ceremony was available online to those who wanted it, anywhere in the world! PREPARATIONS Each faculty and college provided a form of “closing” sometime during the last few days leading up to the commencement on Saturday night. Those gatherings of graduating students usually included talks by faculty members and a student, as well as a video review of campus life and memories.  Friday was the final dress rehearsal, followed by group pictures, including photos of each graduating group together with faculty and university administrators.  The university conducted a Baccalaureate Service prior to the Commencement. Graduate students received their hoods in the Henry Luce Chapel. The seminary held a commissioning service for graduates entering or continuing in Christian service vocations. PICTURESIt would be difficult to over-emphasize the importance of pictures. Most students want their graduation to be memorable. Pictures are counted on to do that.  Students want pictures of themselves in robes with as many friends, teachers, and relatives in as many locations on campus and around town as possible. These photo-opportunities are also times for giving gifts. Flowers, stuffed animals, and garlands of cash are customary.  Each college and faculty set up a backdrop for these congratulatory pictures.    Here a student is surrounded by a circle of colleagues who chant and posture in a way that is difficult to interpret except to say that it signifies the end of this relationship and the promise of a relationship going on, as a new class becomes seniors.
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 As the USA celebrates Thanksgiving, I want to reflect on gratitude. It is a vast subject, so I will limit my comments to four matters which stimulate my thankfulness this year.
LOVE I am thankful for love. Not only the love I have received but the love I see so many others extending to ones they love. It is, as the song of my youth declared, a many-splendored thing. It overcomes almost every adversary. The opposite of love is not hate. It is indifference. So my prayer of gratitude this Thanksgiving is that we stay in love with each other no matter the obstacles. ART I am thankful for art. I am grateful for those who transform daily endeavors into expressions of such kindness, joy, and hope that the beauty of everything that surrounds them blooms. I am thankful as well for the creativity of children, which is universal until it is stifled. And for the prodigious talent of those whose art is the epitome of cultural value at the moment. The opposite of art is not ugliness. It is indifference. So my prayer of gratitude this Thanksgiving is that music, color, and sensations of profundity infuse us. FAITH I am thankful for faith. I am grateful for the way faith serves as a center-pole upon which to attach and criticize our understandings and aspirations. I am particularly thankful for diversity of faith as expressed in religions and ecstacy. The opposite of faith is not heresy. It is indifference. So my prayer of gratitude this Thanksgiving is that optimistic hope will prevail so that divinity may be recognized when it is encountered. LIFE I am thankful for life. I am grateful for the opportunity to experience bonding and letting go, stability and change, past and future (without which the present is vapid). I am unspeakably grateful for others who share life in myriad ways. We exist as we coexist. Life is so powerful that our most common view of heaven or life beyond death is reunion with those we loved. The opposite of life is not death. It is indifference. So my prayer of gratitude this Thanksgiving is that we expand our concern for every human and sensient being and for the environment that supports us. And I am grateful for you of whom I am thinking and remembering this Thanksgiving. [And for Elie Wiesel whose memorable quote on indifference appeared in US News and World Report, Oct 27, 1986.] Image source: Forbes.com |
AuthorRev. Dr. Kenneth Dobson posts his weekly reflections on this blog. Archives
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