Emma Yell, her partner James Ristaino and their daughter Elena Ristaino, 8, in Franklin, Mass. Dec. 4, 2024. Yell and Ristaino graduated from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth this year, but did not receive a cash gift from commencement speaker Rob Hale. (Kylie Cooper/The New York Times)
Graduation from University of Massachusetts Dartmouth came with a fabulous surprise for the seniors who were there: Rob Hale, a local telecom billionaire, turned up with over $1 million in duffel bags and handed $1,000 each to graduates as they got their degrees. They were to keep $500 for themselves and give $500 to help a person or an organization that needed it more than they did.
But 20% of the graduating class, which totaled 1,200 people, missed the ceremony and did not get money.
“You’ve got to show up,” Hale told People magazine when the tale of the rich man doling out $100 bills drew media attention.
But one graduate said she had missed the ceremony because her postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome flared up. Another had older parents, who could not have handled the weather, and did not want to leave them at home. Paige Santos, another graduate, has cerebral palsy and uses an electric scooter that would not have done well in the monsoon conditions.
In this season of giving, what are we to make of a billionaire with a soft spot for striving graduates who draws a hard line on being present for the pomp and circumstance, no matter the circumstances?
“Even though he is certainly sorry for the folks who could not make it, for any reason, there were still over 1,000 graduates that were there with him in the pouring rain for the commencement,” said Katie Sheridan, his executive assistant. “He would like to stick with the original sentiment that you had to be there in order to receive the envelopes.”
Ryan C. Merrill, a UMass Dartmouth spokesperson, said under an agreement the school had signed, the $1,000 was only for students participating in the May 16 ceremony.
“With that said, the university remains committed to Hale’s vision for his philanthropic distribution, should that ever change,” Merrill wrote.
Emma Yell, who missed the ceremony because her daughter, Elena, 8, uses tracheotomy and feeding tubes and couldn’t be exposed to the elements, hoped Hale would make an exception for her and her partner, James Ristaino, who was also graduating. But she was disappointed all over again.
“I just want people like me — or us — to be seen,” she said. “I feel constantly isolated in every way, and the graduation ceremony was just like the cherry on top of everything.”
c.2024 The New York Times Company. This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
