Though having the option of rushing their classes to avoid semester conversion, more students than expected decided to stick it out as 950 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students graduated Thursday. It was around the same number as last year. “I thought it was going to be a little bigger this year, but it turned out not to be,” said University Registrar Linda Allen. Still, others decided to avoid the confusion and leave Northeastern before the semester wave hit. Business major Jenny Killinger decided to forego one of her three co-ops and graduate after four years. “I didn’t want to do the semesters,” she said. Criminal justice major Andy MacInnis also decided to leave after four years to “beat the semester conversion.” Nearly 500 students attended commencement, receiving their alumni pins and diplomas. Former Suffolk District Attorney Ralph C. Martin II, a Northeastern graduate, gave the keynote speech. “For me, it is indeed an honor, as well as a daunting task, to address this graduating class,” Martin said. He went on to speak to the class of 2003 about the way the world and the university have changed since he was a student. “Who would have predicted that the best rapper would be a white guy, the best golfer would be a black guy and ‘Queer Eye for the Straight Guy’ would be the best show, on the Bravo network no less?” he said. Martin also received an honorary degree from Northeastern, naming him a doctor of public service.