This liminal period is often a time of stress and uncertainty. The commencement ceremony marks the communitas stage of the rite of passage, as the graduates reenter society with a wholly new status....

This liminal period is often a time of stress and uncertainty. The commencement ceremony marks the communitas stage of the rite of passage, as the graduates reenter society with a wholly new status. The commencement ceremony dates back to the twelfth century at the University of Bologna in what is now Italy. Shortly thereafter, it spread to other European universities.