University of South Carolina Beaufort to hold drive-through graduation ceremony Friday
The University of South Carolina Beaufort will hold a drive-through celebration for graduates Friday evening, according to an announcement from the school.
The school’s in-person graduation ceremony was cancelled by the University of South Carolina’s board of trustees due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The drive-through celebration will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday in front of USCB’s Hargray Building on the Bluffton campus. Faculty and staff will cheer on graduates along the procession route.
All participants are being asked to wear masks or face coverings.
Similar ceremonies will take place simultaneously at USC Aiken and USC Upstate.
About 330 students are graduating, and the university expects about 50 to participate in Friday’s event, USCB Vice Chancellor Mack Palmour said Wednesday.
The ceremony will air on USCB’s website starting July 20, Palmour said. Viewers will be able to watch the virtual ceremony in full, and search for individual tiles on the website recognizing each graduating student.
Classes at USCB, and across the USC system, will be remote until August, per USC president Bob Caslen.
USC announced Thursday it had tentatively scheduled an in-person graduation ceremony for August, after previously walking back a similar ceremony announcement in favor of a virtual graduation.
The ceremony will not be held if the community sees a significant increase in coronavirus cases, Caslen said in a letter to graduates.