Dayana Sedora had been looking forward to her graduation for five long years - and she couldn't be more disappointed.
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The computer science graduate was one of a number of University of Wollongong students who took to social media on Friday to deride the "virtual graduation" that took place at 6pm on Thursday.
The graduating class of 2020 had had their studies disrupted due to the COVID pandemic; they knew their graduation would look different - but they did expect more than what they got.
"We thought it would at least be a live graduation and our names would be said out loud - not simply a pre-recorded video and then a list of names you could easily miss. I missed mine at first," Ms Sedora said.
"It's not what we deserve after years of study. I sat down with my husband to watch it, and I was just devastated.
"When we were told mid-year we would not have a graduation at the university I was really upset - but after watching this I'm just angry."
Ms Sedora started her degree at UOWs Dubai campus before transferring to the Wollongong site, and said her family overseas had made the effort to tune in.
"It was on in the morning in Dubai and my mother had worked a 12-hour night shift at the airport and stayed awake to see it - she need not have bothered," she said.
"My husband Ivan (Korygko) graduated prior to COVID from the university - and it was upsetting that I couldn't have the same experience.
"I'm glad I hired a gown and had a photo session some months ago, so I least have them."
Another graduate Mikayla Dennelly posted on a UOW students' page that viewing the virtual graduation was "like watching the end credits of a really s**t movie".
She turned down a night shift, and her family and friends rushed home, to watch the show.
"I could have been getting my $26.54 an hour right now - because it's not live streamed, I could have watched this drunk in my PJs on Friday night - the exact same way I spent my degree," she said.
Another student, who did not wish to be named, said there'd been such a big lead-up to the virtual graduation that she was expecting much more.
"We all had a graduation pack sent to us with cut-outs for selfies and hashtags to use, as well as the graduation cap," she said.
"The language was around it being a live graduation, and encouraged us to get our friends and family together at 6pm. So in my mind we'd get a Zoom or live streamed event, and we'd all take part in the event.
"Instead, it was a pre-recorded video uploaded to YouTube, and our names came up like rolling credits, with a smattering of vignettes from staff saying congratulations.
"It had clearly been put together prior - just say that it's a graduation video uploaded to YouTube, this is not a virtual event."
Meantime graduate Nadir Khalid expressed his "sheer disappointment" with the recorded video.
"We saw week-long activities with full crowd on campus during the orientation and I'm surprised that COVID restrictions were event specific and always came in when asked for a graduation ceremony," he stated.
A UOW spokesman said the decision to cancel all 2020 graduation ceremonies due to COVID restrictions and physical distancing measures had not been "taken lightly".
"Around 7600 students were unable to celebrate their graduation in person on campus at UOW in 2020," he said.
"A formal in-person gathering celebrating graduation for around 7600 students is a large and complex event requiring meticulous planning and lengthy preparations.
"The continually changing COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings throughout 2020 and into 2021 made conducting such a large gathering impossible."
The spokesman said the virtual event was the "most practical option" for UOW to give as many 2020 graduates as possible a chance to celebrate their achievements while keeping within government advice and guidelines.
"The university understands and accept that some graduates have been disappointed by the decision to hold a virtual graduation or by how the event was conducted," he said.
"This is regrettable, but unavoidable under these unprecedented circumstances.
"UOW wants to maintain contact with its graduates and to continue celebrating their success as members of our global alumni community and is encouraging them to remain connected in this way."
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