It’s almost funny. University officials said they did not cancel summer commencement because of the cost. That’s puzzling, because these days, nothing really gets cut or canceled unless there’s no money for it.

Now, it has become apparent the Convocation Center is being used for a convention by the Jehovah’s Witnesses Association the weekend of the original date of the summer ceremony.

Although the contract for the Jehovah’s Witnesses was signed eight days before NIU announced the merger of the summer and fall ceremonies, Vice Provost Earl Seaver said the convention did not factor into the change.

Maybe it just made it a little easier. Seaver said they looked at the time and energy it takes and the attendance before making the decision to cancel. What they didn’t take into consideration was the value of the graduation to students, and when you weigh time and energy against bringing in money for the university, this does turn into a cost issue.

In a Feb. 17 Northern Star article, Convo marketing manager Kevin Selover said that if the ceremony is canceled, they would try to book another event for that same weekend, which is exactly what they did two weeks earlier. It’s funny that when Selover and Seaver were interviewed for this article, the Jehovah’s Witnesses event had already been booked, yet both remained quiet about it.

In that same article, Seaver said they sent out a mass e-mail to students “inviting” them to attend the fall ceremony rather than the summer one. Seaver said this was to “make sure they weren’t freaking out about the change.” How nice.

That sure was a failed attempt, because students are outraged and insulted, and NIU is doing nothing about it.

Administrators should be ashamed of themselves. They are always saying how NIU is unique, yet they keep saying this change keeps us in line with other state institutions. If we are going to do everything like other state institutions, what’s the point of coming to NIU?

At least we used to be able to offer a summer graduation, something not all other universities do. Not anymore – we’re just like the rest of them now.