Flying Tortillas Show Matador Pride at Commencement 2016

The clock struck 8:00am on the dot, a gloomy but memorable day for many of the graduates. The high pressure and heat were felt as the commencement concluded with a flinging of tortillas shooting straight to the sky, symbolizing the continuation of the day’s successes.

Photo Credit: Jennifer Vazquez

The day finally came.

About 1,200 students gathered this past Saturday, May 21, 2016 at California State University, Northridge, wearing their black caps and gowns.

The vociferous crowd arrived in huge chunks as they passed metal detectors and searched for a spot on the silver bleachers of the Oviatt Library Lawn.

The commencement ceremony was held for the departments of education, and social behavior, which included geography, anthropology, psychology, deaf studies, and special education studies. The department of social behavior was a large graduating class of about 600 Psychology majors.

The traditional song, “Pomp and Circumstance,” “duhnnan, naaa…” marked the start of the event as the graduates from both the right and the left of the lawn walked in from side entrances to be seated.

There was a numerous amount of decorated caps with sparkles, flowers, and letters that distinguished every individual’s personality. This, at the same time, served as a marking point for many of the parents out in the audience to distinguish their children. “Look, there she is, the one with the sparkling, blue Dory cap,” said Maria Pacheco, mother of a deaf’s study student.

Sarah Salazar, deaf studies graduate, started the ceremony by singing the National Anthem as several of her classmates raised from their seats and went to the front stage. Sarah began to sing with her extraordinary, operatic voice as her lips touched the microphone. Deaf studies classmates signed congratulations by waving/twisting their hands in the air various times, expressing “Yay!” and “Hurrah!”

Photo Credit: Jennifer Vazquez

Shortly after, President Dianne F. Harrison came to the podium saying encouraging words to the fellow graduates, clapping and shouting, knowing that they had just accomplished one of the many goals in life and still had the future ahead of them to change the world.

President Harrison singled out two students who overcame adversity. One was Ligia Cordero, receiving her Master’s, who emigrated from Guatemala at 15 and was the first in her family to graduate college. She earned her degree while working as a teacher and recovering from spinal surgery. As she was bed-ridden, she would face-time with her professors to stay updated with assignments, resulting in a final GPA of 3.95.

Melanie Fessenger, who is graduating in psychology, did many internships that are inter-correlated with the university. During her studies, she maintained a 3.99 GPA while working full time; she has been accepted into four doctorate programs.

Eventually, after the speeches ended, students walked to the stage to collect their diplomas and Harrison congratulated the graduates, it was time for the traditional hat toss. But instead of the throwing caps, came a surprise: tortillas. It seemed a group of students, prohibited from bringing horns, balloons, or balls to the ceremony, literally flung tortillas into the air, roaming around to all the graduates, causing a rowdy audience. These psychology students had to be different and bring out something to make this a memorable ceremony.

The howling, stomping, clapping, and rising of the audience, happened as the ceremony came to its ending. The audience sang along with the cheering, shouting, jumping graduates “Hail to the Matadors.” Which is CSUN’s song, written by Richard Kaufman, an alumnus from the year 1972.

As the ceremony concluded, big smiles were seen in every corner.

“I am very proud of my son in his accomplishment of receiving a psychology degree. He is the first of the family to receive a degree, and I am very happy that his one of many goals was reached!” said Monica Sanchez, a single, Hispanic mother.

“ I finally made it! After all those long nights, and never ending exams and papers, here I am feeling like a rock star!” said Daniel Sanchez, 23, psychology graduate.