As Lakeland College students, one of the tasks we must complete is that of fulfilling our convocation requirement, which, for incoming freshman students is a total of 24. Transfer students are given an altered number based on credits already earned.

When broken down, it seems like a fairly easy task—just attend four convocations a semester.

However, sometimes it is easy to put these off and before a student knows it, he or she is months away from graduating and still in need of credits.

For students in this situation, the library has old convocation events on tape that students can watch. However, students must write a two-page paper detailing what they watched in the recording to receive credit.

Ann Penke, director of library services, said, “One can come to the desk and say they want to view the recordings, and we take them into the room where the convocations are stored so they can decide which one they want to view.”

However, some students would prefer not to view the recordings the library or just don’t have the time. If this is the case, there is another option, which is to go to a community event that would fulfill the cultural aspect that the convocations provide.

A few examples would be lectures at the library or historical societies, as well as high school plays. If seniors choose to go this route, they need to remember that the written report must have content as well as a critique of what they did and did not like about the event.

According to Kristi Vogel, associate registrar, “The two page paper must have content. If it’s full of fluff, we won’t accept it.”

Vogel also pointed out that it is often overlooked that not everyone can take advantage of this—it is only available to seniors in their final semester.

For more information, contact Penke, Vogel or an advisor. Students can also view limited events online at http://lakeland.edu/John-Esch-Library/convocation-tapes.