UMass Boston Commencement
Commencement for 2003 UMass Boston Graduates will be taking place on May 31 at the Bayside Expo Center. The ceremony will commence at 10:30am.
Graduates may pick up two additional tickets to the ceremony on Thursday, May 8th in the Student Life Office beginning at 9am. The tickets will be given on a first come first serve basis, so students are encouraged to act promptly.
Additional activities for the graduating class of 2003 include the Senior Ball, which will be held on May 17th at the Sheraton Boston at the Prudential Center. Seniors interested in attending the Ball should contact Student Life at 617-287-7950 for further information.
The week proceeding graduation also includes several Honors Convocations, including the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Management, College of Public and Community Service, the Gerontology Program, and the Graduate Studies Program. For more information concerning dates and times, students should visit www.umb.edu then click on the calendar of events.
Student Suicide Rate High
Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students. While research has shown that 90 percent students who commit suicide have treatable mental illnesses such as depression, there are very limited resources to identify at risk students.
In an effort to combat this problem, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) has begun a program named the College Screening Project to identify at risk students. The goal of the AFSP is to eventually make the College Screening Project available to campuses across the country. However, each campus would have the discretion of deciding whether or not they actually want the program.
The initial response of students have participated in the project has been good. In fact, students who have participated in a clinical evaluation credit the program with assisting them in recognizing their mental problem.
Anyone interesting in more information about the project should contact the AFSP at http://www.afsp.org.
Bring Your Folks
The 6th annual Boston Folk Festival will be held from September 19th to the 21st at the UMass Boston Campus. Some of the performers are Kate Campbell, Carol Noonan, Tom Rush, and the Tarbox Ramblers. More performers will be announced.
Tickets go on sale May 3rd. Tickets can be purchased online at www.bostonolkfestival.org or by calling 617-287-6900. A two-day pass costs $50, one-day passes are $30, and attending Friday night festivities costs $10. Tickets for children ages 6-14 are only $10 for the entire festival, while children under 6 are free. Ticket prices will increase on August 23rd.