As the spring semester winds down, El Camino College prepares for its 76th Annual Commencement Ceremony.

The ceremony will begin on Friday, June 9 at 4 p.m., at Murdock Stadium. However, not everyone will be participating in the festivities.

Director of the Bookstore Julie Bourlier expressed her concern when talking about the sales for this year’s graduation.

“By this time last year we had about 650 caps and gowns sold,” Bourlier said. “Right now we have sold about 400 of each.”

The cap and gown is the only requirement, besides completing the required classes, in order to attend commencement.

“They have to be royal blue, but that’s about it,” Bourlier said.

As far as the upcoming graduates, there are mixed feelings about whether or not to attend the ceremony.

Psychology major Aiden Gutierrez said he will not be attending this year’s graduation but will be attending his next one at UC Santa Barbara.

“I feel like it will be better to wait for my bachelor’s degree and then celebrate it in full,” Gutierrez said.

He will be transferring with some of his friends, who will also not attend commencement.

“Actually, my friend talked me out of [commencement],” Gutierrez said. “I don’t really want to buy the clothes just to buy them again in a couple of years.”

To contrast, history major Ollie Corcovelos is planning to attend the ceremony next month.

“I feel like it is a big step in my life to graduate from El Camino, so I will do my best to attend,” Corcovelos said.

When talking about their cap and gown, Corcovelos said they plan to buy from the bookstore.

“As I’m graduating from El Camino, I want my outfit to be from El Camino as well,” Corcovelos said. “I’ll be stopping by the Bookstore to pick up my cap and gown.”

Besides the many students who are deciding to not attend the ceremony, Bourlier credits online sales as a reason why sales are down.

“Our tassel sales are down, so that probably means there are many students who are looking for online options,” Bourlier said.

She said it is normal for students to buy from outside, but also said the quality is better at the bookstore.

The bookstore offers the combo of the cap, gown and tassel for $46.95. They also have many other perks that are available individually or as combos.