Reog Ponorogo appearance, as one of East Javanese culture presented at the 121st Graduation Ceremony.

ITS Campus, ITS News — Graduation ceremony is a moment that every student has been waiting for. Including students of Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS), who has anticipated this celebration since they set foot on the largest technology campus in East Java. With aims of making the procession of the graduation ceremony even more special, ITS adopted East Java as the theme of the 121st ITS Graduation Ceremony.

The Head of ITS Public Communication Unit, Anggra Ayu Rucitra, S.T., M.MT., explained that ITS wanted to showcase East Javanese culture to its graduates and honorable guests. Due to the fact that it is located in East Java, the culture displayed is an East Java exclusive.

This Interior Design Department lecturer revealed that the adaptation of the new concept at the graduation ceremony was a new breakthrough by ITS. Previously, ITS itself had never implemented a specific theme in its graduation ceremony. “Previously, we only utilized themes that were common in graduation, such as formal clothes and batik,” revealed Anggra.

She continued that one of the striking differences between this graduation ceremony and the previous ones was namely the Campus Ambassador finalists. In this ceremony, the ITS Campus Ambassador finalists were assigned as guest receptionists. The clothes they wore were Cak and Ning clothes, which are very famous in Surabaya traditions.

Anggra Ayu Rucitra, S.T., M.MT., (center) when posing with the finalists of Campus Ambassadors, who wore Cak and Ning clothes.

In addition to that, the performances delivered at this graduation were designed to be very close to the traditions of East Java. Such as the songs brought by the ITS Student Choir (PSM) entitled: Surabaya, Rek Ayo Rek, Keraban Sape, and Luk Luk Lumbu, some of the most known songs from East Java.

ITS Student Choir (PSM) when performing a song as entertainment during the graduation ceremony.

On top of that, ITS also presented various East Javanese culture as entertainment to the graduates and honorable guests, namely Reog, who comes from Ponorogo. The dance, which features the main dancer in a lion head costume decorated with peacock feathers, was one of the main appearances in this graduation ceremony.

“We want to show an amazing performance so that the invitees will find it memorable,” hoped Anggra.

Anggra added that through adopting this theme in the graduation ceremony, it is hoped that each event can be more memorable for graduates as well as invited guests. “In the future, we (ITS, red) want every graduation ceremony to always be delivered with a theme, which changes every period,” she concluded hopefully. (ri/rur/ory)