Commencement by the numbers
One year of planning and countless man-hours equal this unforgettable day
50,000: The approximate number of chairs rented
8,000: The number of sheets used to outfit the 3,800 beds made for alumni guests staying in the Houses over Commencement weekend. (Eight thousand towels will also be distributed for these guests.)
6,000: The number of linear feet in fencing installed all over campus for this event alone
4,000: The number of tables rented
32,000: The number of people expected at Morning Exercises
300: The approximate number of people — from vendors to laborers — who helped coordinate this year’s event
200: The number of tents erected throughout campus
88: Temperature forecasted
15: Minutes the bells of Cambridge will ring at the completion of Morning Exercises
1: The number of years it will take Commencement Director Grace Scheibner to plan Commencement 2014
0: The number of times rain has forced Morning Exercises inside. (But once, in June 2001, heavy rain forced Afternoon Exercises into Sanders Theatre.)