For 2nd straight night, Howard University parents left in tears over missing graduation

WASHINGTON (WJLA) — Howard University in D.C. rescheduled the graduation ceremony for its nursing school after a chaotic scene erupted on Thursday.

A large crowd drew to watch the College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences students graduate, but the crowd grew upset and chanted “Let us in” when they were denied entrance to the building.

Posts on social media show crying graduates and angry relatives and friends.

Inside the ceremony, the Dean of the Nursing School at one point said, “Because of the size of the room and because our relatives sometimes do not know how to act, the fire department is now here to shut us down.”

The ceremony was then canceled for the night.

However, a D.C. Fire & EMS spokesperson said on Friday that they did not shut the event down. They said they instead came to the scene because of a medical call. A witness told WJLA someone had broken glass at Cramton Auditorium during the incident.

“At 6:42 p.m. we responded to the Cramton Auditorium for a medical call at the request of campus police. The patient was evaluated and refused transport and D.C. Fire and EMS departed,” wrote Noah Gray, the Chief Communications Officer for D.C. Fire and EMS.

The ceremony for the College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences, according to the Howard University website, was supposed to go from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. at Cramton Auditorium on Thursday.

“Tickets will not be required, and seating will be allotted on a first-come, first-served basis,” the website for the nursing graduation read.

Howard University released the following statement Friday afternoon:

"Dear Howard University Community.

We are delighted to recognize the significant achievements of the Class of 2024-a historic moment in our University's history, celebrating over 2,800 graduates. This is a long-awaited moment for our students, many of whom missed their high school graduations, other celebrations, and began their academic journey in a virtual environment during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The outpouring of support from families and loved ones has been tremendous, resulting in capacity challenges at our campus venues. Along that vein, we apologize wholeheartedly for the challenges experienced during our College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences (CNAHS) Honors and Awards Ceremony. The overcrowding at Cramton Auditorium significantly impacted the guest experience. To rectify this, we will formally recognize our College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences graduates at the Capital One Arena tomorrow, May 11, following our Commencement Convocation.

While we are unable to accommodate everyone who wishes to attend campus awards and recognition ceremonies in person, as every venue has a capacity limit, we invite guests to join the Commencement Ceremony via livestream on Howard University’s YouTube channel, on WHUR 96.3 FM or on HUT-TV, Howard University’s public broadcast channel. The ceremony will be rebroadcast at 9 a.m. on Sunday, May 12.

Looking forward, we are committed to implementing measures to better manage crowd capacity and enhance the graduation ceremony experience. Your understanding and patience during this time are greatly appreciated.

Despite the challenges, we must recognize the magnitude of this moment. Our higher retention rates have led to historic graduation rates and a phenomenal turnout. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to our graduates on your remarkable achievements. Your hard work, dedication, and perseverance have culminated in this proud moment.

Congratulations to the Class of 2024! Your resilience and excellence are inspiring."

Although unlike Thursday evening the graduation was not canceled, on Friday evening several hundred people were left out in the rain after Cramton Auditorium reached capacity again. This time it was for graduates of the College of Engineering and Architecture, and again the ceremony was scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

Employees shut the doors of the auditorium and left the crowd out in the cold with little communication until a man from the auditorium came out and said it had reached the capacity set by the fire marshal.

“We traveled so far to come here to stand in the rain, and can’t even get inside. Now you’re going to stand here and say ‘oh, it’s full to capacity.’ That’s not right,” said Shurland Layne, a father who was denied entrance.

It’s very upsetting. I’m a single parent, I worked very hard to put her through this school just to not be able to see her walk,” said Chantell Fletcher, who said she had gotten up at 5 a.m. to drive from Long Island, New York, to see her daughter graduate.

Some parents questioned why the school didn’t issue tickets or use a larger venue such as the Burr Gymnasium.

Howard University chief communications officer Lydia Sermons said running out of space for graduations of individual colleges had not been an issue in past years. She said this year’s graduating class is the largest in Howard University history, and that combined with many students not having a normal high school graduation in 2020 due to the pandemic has drawn huge crowds for graduations this year.

She pledged that the school would plan in the future to try to prevent a repeat of what has happened at some graduations this year.

The nursing graduation was rescheduled for Saturday, which was also the day of Howard University’s main commencement ceremony for all graduates.

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