The end of college is supposed to bring excitement and joy, but the Sacramento State Spring 2014 Grad Fest left a majority of senior students confused and frustrated.

Held in the University Ballroom in the Union from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 8, the event served as a one-stop-shop for graduating students with booths selling cap and gowns, photo opportunities and a grad pack filled with a t-shirt, license plate holder and alumni membership.

While the event was beneficial in theory, the execution was quite poor. Upon entering the area, students found lengthy unorganized lines weaving around each other with no clear signs indicating what each one was for or where they began.

Three different lines fed out of the main doors making it difficult to even get into the event to see where the lines eventually led. There was no clear signage and aside from the people working the various booths, there appeared to be no officials directing traffic or telling people where to go.

At every booth, people would constantly wander up and ask: “What is this line for?” Through all the disorder, some students took the opportunity to jump in line ahead of others who had patiently waited.

But who can blame them? For any student seeking to buy a cap and gown, the wait could last up to 4 hours. Several disheartened students dejectedly left their lines with their grad fest goals incomplete because they could not afford to miss their classes.

Matt Ananos, a senior kinesiology major, said he spent at least two hours at the event and does not understand why it was such a messy experience.

“You think since they do this every year, they would be more organized,” Ananos said. “At least have partitions to make the lines look better.”

Since many of the items highlighted were available to students on other days, Grad Fest should avoid becoming just a marketplace and embrace the celebration of college completion.

For many of the seniors at the event, this will mark the last time they step foot in the very same room where they were introduced to the campus and began their college education journey. And yet, their lasting memory of it will be a disappointing day filled with confusion, frustration and wasted efforts.