Commencement at Montana State University is an exciting time for our graduates and the campus community.  It brings with it a flurry of activity – the completion of finals week, families arriving in town, students packing and moving, and the campus preparing for the celebration.  What most people don’t see is what it takes to prepare the campus grounds and facilities for the many activities that happen during that week.

Years ago when commencement was held in June, it was much easier to prepare the grounds for Commencement.  The grass was green and the flowers were in full bloom.  Now that commencement is held in May, it can be a challenge to get the grounds presentable before the event.  Often the snow isn’t gone until the end of April and that doesn’t leave much time for the grass to start growing again and for University Services to prepare the grounds for the festivities.  Flowers are limited to a few strategically placed planters because there is still a significant risk of frost at this time of year. 

Campus areas that have the highest exposure (most traveled by visitors to campus) receive the highest level of attention:  trash & debris removal, mowing & trimming, flower planting, sidewalk sweeping and shrub bed cleanup.  Preparation of the grounds begins several weeks prior to the actual event. 

This year, University Services had a great idea!  The staff showed up in full force to pick up trash across the entire campus on the afternoon of Friday, May 5.  The weather was beautiful and the staff enjoyed a couple of hours in the fresh air, away from the phones and piles of work on their desks. 

Starting on College Street (between 6^th & 11^th Streets) and working their way south to Kagy, the staff cleaned the entire campus grounds in less than 2 hours.  Many bags of trash were collected and the grounds looked great  in time for commencement activities.

Return to regular view	Text-only	Updated: 05/09/2006