Last Thursday, at the commencement ceremony of the Howard University School of Nursing in Washington, D.C., there were too many people to attend the ceremony, causing parents to block the door and break through the window, causing a series of cut riots and other incidents.
Agitated parents not only created a "martial arts training ground" outside the entire auditorium, but also messed up the students' once-in-a-lifetime college graduation ceremony.
The firefighters who came to reinforce said after watching the whole riot: The degree of catching horses in this graduation ceremony is absolutely unforgettable...
Last Thursday, the commencement ceremony for the Howard University College of Nursing and Health Sciences took place as scheduled in the school's Cramton Auditorium.
On the morning of the ceremony, all the fresh graduates were excited to put on their bachelor's gowns and come to the auditorium to listen to the president's speech.
The graduates are always ready to take the stage to receive the president's "tasseling" ceremony and receive their degree certificates when their names are read.
As is customary, the families of recent graduates are also invited to attend the ceremony and witness this sacred moment from their seats at the back of the auditorium.
However, at the beginning of the ceremony, although the back of the auditorium was full of students' families, there were still many family members who were not able to enter the ceremony because of the lack of space.
Some of the family members of the students who were not able to enter the stadium began to get emotional when the time was approaching to read their children's names. They stood outside the auditorium in an agitated manner, banging their hands on the glass door and shouting in unison, "Let's get in!" ”
Due to the limited capacity of the auditorium, the security guards had to form a human wall in front of the glass door to advise parents to calm down and not to use violence to avoid the danger of people stampede.
As the music of the ceremony sounded, the people outside became more emotional, and even the powerful relatives directly smashed the entire glass door with their hands and pushed the security guards down.
According to one of the students present:
"The shouting and noisy voices of the family members outside drowned out the principal's speech, and the sound of people banging on the glass door came in an overwhelming way that sounded like gunshots.
The sound lasted for at least ten minutes, and the students inside were terrified, everyone was afraid that the influx of family members would cause a stampede, and even more afraid that they would do it in the small auditorium, and it was not clear if any of them were armed. ”
Seeing the excited family members, they were about to pour in like a tide. The principal immediately called for a halt to the rest of the ceremony, and called 911 to apply for the local fire brigade to disperse the personnel and maintain order.
When the firefighters arrived at the scene, they were also shocked by the scene in front of them, only to see that the entire auditorium was filled with shouting and crying.
After the graduation ceremony was messed up, the long-awaited students couldn't control their frustration and cried in the auditorium and refused to go home.
(Graduate: "I didn't go past a graduation ceremony when I graduated from high school in 2020, and now my college graduation ceremony is also messed up!") ”）
Kiana, a graduate, cried and said, "I wonder how a good graduation ceremony can become so crazy. Before the climax of the ceremony, it became a mess. ”
Another graduate, Harley, said: "This graduation ceremony is of great significance to the whole family. Because of the three-year epidemic, she missed the graduation ceremony of high school.
This time, she became the best among this class of graduates with excellent results, but she did not have the opportunity to come on stage to receive the blessings of the whole school. She hated the families of the students who messed up the graduation ceremony, and it was they who ruined such an important memory of her youth.
One student, who asked not to be named, cried to the media that her grandparents, who live five hours away in North Carolina, spent a lot of money to attend her graduation ceremony.
They came so happily, but they were blocked by some unruly people, and they didn't even see the ceremony.
Not only did the graduates complain about these terrible experiences, but there were also students and their families who had their arms cut by broken glass as the crowds were evacuated.
But these "painful" results did not calm the anger of the intrusion family. Until first responders came to bandage them, the intruders' family members refused to be admitted to the hospital for treatment.
The 2024 commencement ceremony of the Howard University School of Nursing and Health Sciences came to an abrupt end amid heart-rending cries and littered garbage.
Although the school decided to hold a ceremony in a larger auditorium the next day, most students said it was all messed up.
A careful review of the causes of this incident will reveal that the reason why the graduation ceremony, which symbolizes good memories, was upgraded to a "ring competition" was actually caused by the superposition of many small probability events...
Founded in 1867, Howard University is located in Washington, D.C., USA. Founded over 200 years ago, this university is a private institution with a long history.
More than 86% of the university's admitted students in each class are of African ancestry, hence the name Afro-American Harvard.
As a comprehensive university, Howard University covers a variety of disciplines such as engineering and architecture, medicine, and nursing. With well-known alumni like the current U.S. Vice President He Jinli, who has a strong social influence, a large number of applicants apply every year.
The College of Nursing and Related Health Sciences, where the commencement was chaotic, is the largest enrollment at Howard University.
According to the school's usual graduation ceremony, an announcement will be made on the school's official website some time before the ceremony, informing each student that each student is limited to 3 or 4 participants, and issuing them an invitation letter.
(Schematic diagram)
According to the number of attendees on the day, the school selects an auditorium that can accommodate all members, so as to ensure that each family member has his or her own seat. Before the start of the ceremony, a special person will be responsible for checking the invitation letter of each family member before entering the venue.
(Schematic diagram)
If the above standard process had been followed, this confusion would not have occurred. But it just so happened that all the unlikely events happened on the same day.
The auditorium on the day of the ceremony was chosen at Howard University's Cramton Auditorium, which can accommodate up to 2,000 seats.
However, the nursing major, which held its graduation ceremony that day, was itself the largest of all Howard's disciplines. The number of students and faculty alone exceeds 1,000.
(Schematic diagram)
Perhaps due to the negligence of the ceremony preparation team, the announcement did not set an upper limit on the number of family members, nor did it formulate an invitation letter. In this way, even if each graduate only invites 4 relatives and friends to watch the ceremony, the scene of everyone rushing in to grab a seat will of course be chaotic.
There are also many students who missed the high school graduation ceremony due to the epidemic, and in order to satisfy their regrets, they called the whole family to watch in one go, so it is not uncommon for a student to bring 5 or 6 family members on the day of the ceremony.
Such a big scene feels crowded and suffocating just thinking about it.
Because of various elements, in addition to the negligent management of the school, many netizens also said that students and their families should bear part of the responsibility.
After watching this speechless graduation ceremony, netizens could no longer bear to complain, and expressed their views on the incident:
"Every university has a graduation ceremony that restricts tickets for family members of graduates, unless it is held at a rugby stadium.
My son and daughter's graduation ceremony was held on a large basketball court, and only 6 tickets were given to each person. Of course, you can ask students who have spare tickets for a few.
I don't know how Howard University did it, but it's very likely that the people who came first filled their seats regardless of it, and the people behind naturally couldn't get in. ”
"Graduation ceremony tickets are usually given to the students themselves, or depending on the size of the venue, each student is given a fixed number of tickets.
This time, it seems that they are some unreasonable families, who do not follow the rules, and insist on breaking through without a ticket. ”
"It's the same at junior high school and high school graduation ceremonies, and some family members are as crazy as winning the lottery. Some people feel that it's a cultural issue, and we like to express our emotions violently.
But there is still a big difference between emotions being expressed and being out of control. I am saddened that my children were affected by such negative emotions on such a big day. ”
"When I graduated from university, I could only invite four family members per person. If the school only relies on self-awareness, many families are very unruly, and it is normal to bring 20 people. ”
"I think even if there is a limit on tickets, some families can ignore it and bring more family members than the ticket to break in."
As a beautiful memory of the campus era, the graduation ceremony has an irreplaceable symbolic meaning. Such an important ceremony, because of the careless negligence of the school and the unruly behavior of unruly parents, made it so chaotic that anyone would feel pity and sadness.
Hey, I'm really sorry for the graduates who shed tears on the scene.