X-Ring ceremony goes online

Another tradition has been turned on its head by COVID-19.

Late Tuesday, Saint Francis Xavier University announced the annual X-Ring ceremony would go virtual this year.

Murray Kyte, the university’s Vice President, Advancement, says many people come into Antigonish from outside for the ceremony.

Kyte tells The Hawk this stops that from happening.

“I’m confident that the class of 21′ will be remembered as the class that went through the pandemic and did the right thing.”

Kyte says it was a tough decision, but students and administration agreed it was not an acceptable risk for the community.

He says the increasing case numbers made that clear.

“We didn’t want to create a situation where there would be an increased risk of the virus coming into the community.”

He says the Dec. 3 ceremony will have all the usual parts, but, instead of an audience the whole event will be livestreamed.