Rain dampened outdoor commencement ceremonies this morning at UNC Chapel Hill and Duke University and chased graduates indoors at Meredith College. Some Duke and UNC graduates sported garbage bags and other plastic covering over their caps and gowns.

The steady morning rain forced outgoing UNC Chancellor James Moeser to shorten the ceremony at Kenan Stadium, canceling most of the scheduled speakers and moving right to handing out degrees to graduates. As a result, the ceremony lasted little longer than 20 minutes.

At Duke, thousands of graduates sat through a longer ceremony at Wallace Wade Stadium, braving the chill from rain-sodden polyester gowns while their parents took shelter under umbrellas and used commencement programs as makeshift seat cushions on the wet bleachers.

Meredith College held its commencement ceremonies indoors.