For the first time since the 1980s, undergraduate students graduating in December must obtain tickets for their families to attend the commencement ceremony.

Each undergraduate student eligible for December graduation will be allotted six general admission tickets, which will be dispersed beginning Nov. 11.

The main factor in the decision is the increasing number of students and families who attend the December ceremony, said Registrar Rebecca Macon in a telephone interview Monday.

“For the last two years, we’ve filled Stegeman [Coliseum] to capacity,” Macon said. “In fact, one year we had people down the aisles and down the tunnels, and it was just not a safe environment.”

Macon said the Commencement Steering Committee – which includes representatives from the President’s Office, Provost’s Office, Special Events, The Graduate School and Macon representing the undergraduate population – decided a ticket system would be the best way to handle the capacity issue.

“We don’t like going to tickets necessarily,” she said, adding there will be about 10,500 tickets dispersed for the Dec. 18 ceremony. “But we feel it’s the best alternative so we don’t end up having to close the doors an hour before the ceremony because we filled up, and then people who had planned on coming aren’t able to.”

But some students are worried that might still happen, since the commencement ceremony is just six weeks away.

“I already have family members who have bought plane tickets,” said Mandy Schneider, a graduating senior from Covington who has family members flying to Atlanta from Montana and Wisconsin. “They should have told everyone a lot sooner – like when the first graduation e-mail was sent out.”

Schneider said so far the amount of people she has invited adds up to six, but that only includes her immediate family.

“I don’t know who all my parents have invited,” she said. “I was under the impression that anyone could come. I’ve already started to send out my announcements.”

Hammy Mercer, a graduating senior from Atlanta, also said she felt the University should have notified students earlier.

“The timing is really last minute,” Mercer said. “That’s a little late for them to decide that this year, because my family is already making plans, but hopefully that won’t put a kink in our plans.”

And though both Mercer and Schneider said they probably would not need additional tickets, Macon said the committee planned for students who would.

“We’re not going to be in the business of handing out [tickets] to someone who needs more than six,” Macon said. “But, if someone comes in and says they only need four, we’ll take the two [left over] and set them aside, then see how many we end up with as it gets closer to [the end of the distribution days], then based on how many we’re dealing with, we’ll set up a distribution plan that’s first-come, first-serve.”

Distribution of graduation tickets will begin Nov. 11 and will be based on the first letter of the student’s last name. Students can pick up tickets between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. in the Office of the Registrar, located on the first floor of the Holmes/Hunter Academic Building. The last assigned day for ticket distribution is Nov. 19, but there are eight other days open for students who miss their assigned pick up day.

“We spread [the distribution days] out because this is our first time, and we don’t know what to anticipate as far as people showing up,” Macon said. “We divided it out to prevent long lines from forming.”

Macon said any additional tickets that may be distributed will be dispersed after the Thanksgiving break at the end of the month.

“We assume people will pick up six and not need them all, and on their own redistribute tickets – we have no problems with that,” Macon said.

She said she anticipates some people being upset with the decision, since the Office of the Registrar has told people who have questions about commencement that tickets are not required for entry.

“I’m assuming we will have some people who are upset with us because we have said no, but this is in the interest of safety,” Macon said.