Massachusetts college holds 'fauxmencement' for seniors

March 13 (UPI) -- Seniors at a Massachusetts college held a "fauxmencement" ceremony, complete with garbage bag gowns and yarn tassels, to replace their likely-canceled graduation ceremony.

The Olin College of Engineering, which is finishing its semester online due to coronavirus fears, is unlikely to hold an in-person graduation ceremony in the late spring, leading students and faculty to come together Thursday for the "fauxmencement" celebration.

"It was yesterday morning in the dining hall at about 9 or 10 am when a set of students and staff came and said 'Hey, we have this idea. We can do a fake commencement," Mark Somerville, Olin's Dean of Faculty, said at the ceremony. "Which seemed like a pretty awesome idea in a challenging time."

Seniors attended the ceremony in graduation gowns made from trash bags, caps fashioned from paper and tassels made of yarn.

"This is amazing that this is happening right now," Somerville said. "It is a testament to what Olin is as a community and it kind of makes me want to cry but I'm gonna not do that quite yet."