BCC: All Pinning Ceremonies Officially Back On

We have the word from Bristol Community College that all health science and Allied Health pinning ceremonies are officially "back on."

A little more than a week ago, the college was defending the decision to cancel the pinning ceremonies due to a concern about the lack of attendance at the formal commencement ceremony. The problem was that the multiple pinning ceremonies were fracturing attendance with graduation because they were looked upon as "mini graduations."

Nursing students, alumni, and nurses working at local facilities were upset about the decision because they felt that it tossed aside over a century of nursing tradition. Among other things, the pinning ceremony is where a nurse takes her Florence Nightingale oath.

A spokesperson for Bristol Community College told Fun 107 that the school has reversed its decision because their goal is to have an open, inclusive atmosphere.

"The most important thing is that the college is open to listening," the spokesperson said. "Everyone came together to get this done. The funny thing is that all we had to do was just sit down and listen to one another."

When asked if there were still concerns about commencement attendance now that the pinning ceremonies will be happening once again, the spokesperson said that faculty will most likely encourage the students to attend both the pinning and the commencement ceremonies.

As far as the specifics of the pinning ceremonies, students will be allowed to get creative, or maintain the pinning ceremonies just as they were without changes.

"This is all about the students and faculty. It is not an administration thing," said the BCC spokesperson. "Whatever they want is what we want."