The sharp disappointments of this graduation season are the canceling, downsizing and relocating of ceremonies from their traditional locations on some campuses. The loss is greater than merely an opportunity for students to receive their flowers in the presence of family and friends, and to shout their joy alongside classmates. If commencement exercises were merely that, they would not have endured for generations in such a precise form. Rituals are always more than the series of gestures and phrases that form them.