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The month of May in Dunedin is characterised by graduating students descending on the city in droves for the three graduation weekends. Restaurants, accommodation and flights are booked months in advance to ensure the availability of each element of graduates’ last weekend of scarfie debauchery
All graduation ceremonies are held at the Dunedin Town Hall, following an informal procession down George St organised by OUSA.

 
The first graduation weekend in 2011 is May 7, where degrees and diplomas in Applied Science, Consumer and Applied Sciences, Physical Education, Science and Surveying are awarded. The University is expecting 467 students to graduate in person and 106 in absentia for this ceremony. The following weekend see qualifications awarded in Commerce, Tourism and Law, with 457 students expected to graduate in person and 60 in absentia. Arts, Education, Music, Teaching, and Health Sciences degrees are awarded in the final weekend, May 21. 333 students are graduating in person at this ceremony in 2011, and 261 in absentia.

 
When taking part in a graduation ceremony, graduates need to look the part. Regalia can be hired from the Federation of Graduate Women and will set most students back $60; $30 for a gown, and $15 each for a hood and a cap. Students graduating with double degrees have to choose which hood to wear for the ceremony but may rent the second one for photographic purposes for an extra $15. Nice of them to offer a bulk discount.
 

Flights to return to Dunedin for the weekend are often expensive and need to be booked well in advance to ensure availability. Graduating student Matthew Gale booked flights to Dunedin in September last year, with the round trip from Auckland costing $220 nearly nine months in advance. As Critic went to print, a flight from Auckland to Dunedin on the same Friday was priced at $256, with the returning flight on Sunday costing $394 – a whopping $650 round trip for the weekend, excluding any of the other costs involved.

 
Restaurants in Dunedin also get booked well in advance of the event, as graduation dinners are hosted across the city often on both the Friday and Saturday night of the weekend. Top local restaurant Plato told Critic that diners often booked up to a year in advance, with the restaurant completely booked out more than six months ago for the May graduations. A staff member also told Critic that “it is crazy” during the graduations in both May and December.
 

At the other end of the dining spectrum The Asian stated that it did not notice any difference in patronage during graduation season. When asked if any special menu was offered for graduation, a staff member replied that “we are open to anything the customer might want to order”.
 

Immediately after the graduation ceremony, a reception is held in marquees set up in Harrop Street next to the Town Hall. Following a posh, or not so posh, feed at one of Dunedin’s eateries, many graduates of the May 14 weekend head to the Grad Party at Sammy’s Entertainment Venue.

 
The 2011 event features a line up of Optimus Gryme ft. MC Beau/Cool Kids Club/Home Brew/Chaos in the CBD/Sound Forge. Tickets for the party have been available since April 1 through 1-night.co.nz, Quest, OUSA and SOULS at early bird prices of $40, or $45 for the second release of tickets. On April 22, Wilder Promotions reported that online tickets had “unexpectedly sold out,” and 1-night.co.nz released their final allocation of tickets for sale.