DePaul Law Students have to rethink their graduation plans after their ceremony was relocated in anticipation of two important summits in international diplomacy, and G8 and NATO summits, coming to Chicago in May.
While holding such prominent leaders from several countries to discuss current economic and foreign issues might make up for losing the bid to host the 2016 Olympic games, it caused a significant inconvenience for the law schools graduation.
The college was forced to move the location of their graduation from the Lyric Opera House fifteen miles to the Rosemont Theater because of inevitable security and congestion
According to Gregory Marks, Dean of the Law School, the school—and the university–did not have a choice in the matter.
“My job was to help the university find the best possible local alternative under the constraints,” Dean Mark saiaI did my level best to keep the students informed about the change,” Dean Mark said.
According to Chastidy Burns, a third year law student and president of the Student Bar Association, students were unsure about the change.
“There was a lot of concern about it,” she said. “It’s always been at the Lyric Opera House.”
Burns also noted that it was initially difficult to come up with a different location for such a large event.
“They had a lot of trouble finding a location that was big enough,” she said.
However, she also said that she was pleased the location isn’t “terribly far from the Loop.”
Burns has been communicating with Dean Marks and said he was good about reaching out to students who were unhappy with the relocation.
“We were notified about the final decision,” Burns said. “He [the dean] was very open to involving us in the process.”
Now that the decision is final, Burns said the SBA’s goal is to meet the needs of families and students. The organization has been researching hotel and Metra information to make things as convenient as possible for everyone.
Burns said they hope to “make the transition a little easier.”
The summits also are putting a big damper on many high school proms. Several streets will be blocked off during the summits and hotels used to host high school proms will house world leaders instead.
Hosting such prominent leaders from several countries to discuss current economic and foreign issues is an honor for the city and a logistical nightmare.
According to ABC News, Mayor Rahm Emanuel spoke personally to President Obama about allowing Chicago to host the summits. Since Chicago is the president’s home, it holds quite a bit of a lot of significance.
It’s a nod to the city that lost the 2016 Olympics bid, and because this is the first time the summits have occurred in the same city since 1977, the summits themselves hold historical significance.
But summits like these have the potential to cause uproar, even violence. The city is busy organizing and planning for a smooth visit with heavy security implementation.
The city does not want to have an incident similar to what happened in Seattle during the 1999 World Trade Organization summit, which was plagued by massive protests, some of them violent, in what became known as the “Battle in Seattle.