It was graduation day at Wesleyan University and unlike other commencement ceremonies we've seen in our state and across the country, there weren't major disruptions or pro-Palestinian protests.
Students, parents and faculty gathered on Andrus Field for Wesleyan's 192nd commencement on Sunday.
"It's a wonderful place. I'm really sad to be moving on," said Wesleyan graduate Emma Gun.
Gun said she looks back on the last four years at Wesleyan with pride and talked about what it has been like to be on campus in recent weeks.
Get Connecticut local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Connecticut newsletters.
"For a long, long time, a lot of my friends were camping out in the tents," she said.
Shortly before graduation, the school agreed to give students a say in how they invest its endowment in exchange for a campus encampment to be taken down.
"I'm extremely happy that they've been very much open to hearing our responses, and not just immediately shutting us down," said Wesleyan graduate Daisy Montoya.
Local
The school said this agreement also included no disruptions during commencement. Students we spoke to earlier in the week disagreed with that.
Our crew did not see any pro-Palestinian protests or walkouts during the ceremony.
At times, students started shouting "boo" while others decided to express their beliefs in another way.
"I know that people will be silently protesting at least with a lot of stuff on their regalia," Gun said.
""I also have a Keffiyeh as well to symbolize my solidarity with Palestine," Montoya said.
A parent from Mass. said she was very excited to see her daughter graduate, especially after COVID canceled her high school graduation in 2020. This was the case for many students in this graduating class.
"In her world of being here and wanting to finish her last few weeks of schools, she's just happy that everyone has been able to communicate and have clear ideas that they're able to be working within and hopefully, you know, come to some kind of agreement," said Julianne Townshend, of Westin, Mass.
We reached out to a Jewish student group on campus about the school's agreement, but have not heard back.
