At Tuesday’s Faculty Senate meeting, Chancellor Don Beggs strongly urged faculty to participate in the winter commencement, but faculty already should have considered it an honor to be involved.

About 600 graduating seniors are eagerly anticipating the first winter commencement ceremony, and those students deserve faculty participation in the event.

Before the idea of a winter commencement, those students receiving degrees at the end of the fall semester had to either wait for spring commencement exercises, or simply miss out on an important college rite of passage. Students clamored for SIUC administration to hear their ideas of a winter graduation, and the Dec. 20 event represents the culmination of efforts by the University to address those concerns.

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Because this ceremony is so important to students and SIUC, those faculty who already have planned to participate in the winter commencement deserve students’ heartfelt appreciation.

But because this year marks such a vast departure from traditional winter graduation procedures, other faculty may have to do so some last-minute scrambling to acquire caps and gowns. Some faculty even may have scheduled early departures from campus in trying to make the most of a pitifully short three-week winter break.

But money spent on caps and gowns, or attempts to reschedule plans are well worth the effort of participation.

And because a University commencement symbolizes one of the highest honors of many people’s lives, faculty who still are debating whether or not to attend the ceremony should realize how much their support will mean to graduating students.

It may help faculty to remember the thrill of their own respective commencements if they need further prompting. It would be unfortunate for SIUC faculty to miss out on what should mark the beginning of a new SIUC tradition.