The incident took place at the Cramton Auditorium in Washington, DC, on Thursday. The auditorium was filled to capacity with the families of graduating students, but not all were able to secure entry before the ceremony was unexpectedly terminated during the keynote address.
Video footage from the scene shows a crowd gathered outside the auditorium, chanting “Let us in! Let us in!” as the ceremony commenced. Images from the scene reveal a shattered glass door, a result of the commotion as people banged on the doors and attempted to bypass security to gain entry.
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Graduate Bria Flowers recounted the incident to NBC Washington, stating, “While they were doing the keynote speaker, there was, like, loud banging, even before that, for like 10 minutes straight. Just like boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.”
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In the midst of the ceremony, school officials informed students and their families that the fire department had arrived to shut down the event. Dr. Gina S. Brown, dean of the College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences, announced, “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,” which was met with a chorus of boos.
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However, D.C. Fire and EMS refuted the claim that they had shut down the graduation. The department clarified, “D.C. Fire and EMS did not shut down tonight’s event. At 6:42 p.m., we responded to the Cramton Auditorium for a medical local at the request of campus police. The patient was evaluated and refused transport, and D.C. Fire and EMS departed.”
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The abrupt termination of the ceremony left students and their families shocked and upset. Graduate Kiana Hamilton expressed her confusion, saying, “I’m confused why it got so crazy, how it got so quick, so bad so fast.”
The incident was particularly distressing for graduate Halle Ragoonanan, who had missed her high school graduation in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. “I didn’t even get to walk,” she lamented. “I graduated magna cum laude and I didn’t even get to walk. I’m the class of 2020. I didn’t get to walk for my high school graduation and I didn’t get to walk for my college graduation.”
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Other graduates expressed their disappointment over the money their families had spent to attend the ceremony, only for it to be canceled. An unnamed student told the station, “All the money we spent. My father and grandmother came down from North Carolina.”
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Howard University stated that security had removed an individual from the building prior to the ceremony, who later returned and smashed the glass door outside the auditorium. This led to a disturbance among the guests outside the facility, resulting in a disruption of the program. One student sustained cuts on their hands from the broken glass.
The university confirmed that some of the affected students were able to participate in the university’s main commencement ceremony on Saturday, while individual awards were presented to students on Friday.