On November 4, 2010, J-on conducted two separate polls on its website to get feedback from students' on their preference for their convocation venue. The poll ran for a week, until November 11, 2010.

For the first poll, respondents were asked what is the most important thing that they would consider for their convocation venue. Of the 359 respondents, more than half or 190 respondents said that a nice environment would be the most important. Another 113 respondents or 31% wanted easy access and facilities for their convocation.

In the second poll, a total of 383 respondents were asked which location would they prefer their convocation to be at. Three quarter of respondents or 292 picked Kampar as their choice while another 55 respondents or 14% had Wisma MCA in Kuala Lumpur as their choice.

While a large portion of respondents selected Kampar as their preference (76%) the significant number of respondents that chose easy access as their priority (31%) indicates that some respondents do not acknowledge the logistical challenges.

However those who opt for a natural scenery for their convocation still make up the majority of respondents (52%).

The poll is a non-scientific poll but measures were put in place to improve accuracy.

The poll is meant for final year students however acknowledging that for some readers, the poll may just be too tempting to resist, a "I'm not a final year student" option was added to reduce sampling error.

Also the poll uses cookies, meaning that users may only vote once per internet browser type per computer.

The poll was created with the intention of gauging the opinion of students' and to provide students a say on their preferred convocation venue, particularly since to our knowledge, no final decision has been made by UTAR management.

J-on also invited readers to express their opinion on this matter, and have received several feedback and ideas which can be read here.

The general trend is that those favouring Kuala Lumpur find it more convenient, particularly those living in Sabah and Sarawak on top of the abundance of entertainment centres.

Those who prefer Kampar generally has a sense of attachment to the place which have seen them through for three years and its natural scenery is another plus.

We acknowledge that UTAR management has its managerial challenges in deciding the most suitable place for the convocation of January '08 degree intake students, ranging from convocation hall, transportation and lodging.

However, for many students, convocation is a defining moment in their lives, and not just another managerial issue. Also, there have been some constructive suggestions from the students, such as an open air convocation ceremony.

While UTAR management has its logistical concerns, we urge that the management to kindly take into account the sentiments of the students in its decision making process.

We also call on the Student Representative Committee (SRC) to assist in passing on the results to the management.