DU holds 53rd convocation amid festivity

Md Moniruzzaman :
Dhaka University celebrated its largest convocation of its 101 years’ history with joyous atmosphere and unbridled excitement of participating thousands of graduate and post-graduate students.
It was a day of joys for the graduates, their guardians and teachers for completion of the degrees.
Wearing convocation gowns, hoods and mortar boards, thousands of graduates participated in the convocation early on the Saturday’s morning.
Marking the end to the long journey in university, graduates were busy with taking photographs wearing special convocation gowns at notable places of the university.
There were smiling faces with victory all over the campus with black gowns that turned the campus into the sea of black gowns.
“Today I completed my graduation ceremonially after passing long time struggle, that’s enjoyable. But when I think I have ended my university journey and I have to go out of the campus, I feel sorry,” Emad Uddin Maruf, a graduate of Mass Communication and Journalism Department said.
A Total of 30,338 graduate and postgraduate students were conferred their degrees at the 53rd convocation held at the central playground of the university.
Of them 22,287 students from DU took part at the central playground venue and 7,796 students from affiliated seven Colleges participated at Dhaka College and Eden Mahila College campus vanues and they were connected with the main venue through video conferencing.
But some students of affiliated seven Colleges protested the digital convocation saying the convocation makes discrimination with them and demanded a separate convocation for them.
All the roads and popular gathering spots on campus, including Curzon Hall, Mall Chattar, Shaheed Minar, TSC, Art’s Building and Ruqayyah Hall promise were abuzz with youths taking a final stroll on the campus as students.
 “Celebrating the convocation, the most joyous and rewarding day for a university student, with mother after completing four years of honors and officially graduating was one of the remarkable moments of life,” Shahoriar Sarker, a graduate of Disaster Science and Climate Resilience Department said.
The convocation programme began at 11.55 am with a colourful procession. Earlier the youth graduates had to take their seats within 11.30 am at the convocation’s venue.
Nobel laureate French Economist Prof Dr Jean Tirole delivered the convocation’s speech while President and Chancellor of DU Abdul Hamid delivered his speech as a chair.
Dr Jean Tirole said that you (students) have to believe in yourself to succeed. You have talent, knowledge materials. It will not stop until it reaches its maximum limit. Your determination and your surroundings will take you far.
He also urged the students to represent the university as a graduate and to be eternally grateful to those who have supported them on this journey.
In the convocation, a number of 131 teachers, researchers and students received gold medals from the president for their outstanding performance.
Besides, 97 researchers were conferred Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees, 35 Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degrees and two received Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) degrees.
The university provided the Doctor of Laws degree to Nobel laureate French Economist Prof Dr Jean Tirole as 53rd people.