Barnard investigates Grant’s Tomb for commencement location

If Barnard has its way, the class of 2011 will hold its commencement off campus below a national memorial.

The administration is currently investigating the possibility of Grant’s Tomb as the commencement location, Barnard President Debora Spar said on Thursday.

It’s still a work in progress, and a complicated one, she said, because this location involves working with different public agencies.

If approved, the ceremony would be held in the park extending southward from the steps of the tomb—a federal monument on 122nd Street.

Spar said she and other administrators presented several options to a group of students recently. “We were interested to see that they were pretty unanimous in their view,” she said.

This process so far has been less controversial than last year’s selection—administrators had initially settled on Dodge’s Levien Gym, but after students protested, they moved the ceremony to Ancel Plaza outside the International Affairs Building.

If Barnard can’t work out the logistics of Grant’s Tomb, South Lawn is a back-up, administrators said.

“It’s a spectacular spot,” Spar said of Grant’s Tomb. “As a number of students pointed out, it feels very Barnard because it’s leafy and green and quite elegant, but it’s in the city and you’ll cross city streets to get there. It’s a beautiful processional.”