Graduation cut short, 7 taken to the hospital San Francisco Chronicle: 'People getting taken by ambulance': UC Davis cuts graduation short amid scorching heat
"UC Davis didn't finish its outdoor graduation commencement on Friday after multiple local agencies, including the fire department, urged the university to stop the ceremony. Some 12,500 students and families were baking in scorching heat without easy access to shade, officials said....
"...After three hour,s many students had yet to walk across the stage and receive their diplomas. The university announced just after 11 a.m. it was stopping the ceremony based on health and public safety concerns due to heat.
"Ashley Hicks, a student who attended the ceremony, said she was confused by the university's planning. "It was allotted to between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. and the procession of students entering into their seats didn't end until 9:30 a.m. An hour and a half of the time was taken up by the procession...."
"...Many parents and family members expressed their concern on social media. 'As a concerned parent, few weeks ago tweeted about bad choice having an outdoor event in CA heat,' @4katluvrs said in a tweet. "This should have been an indoor event like the past years. Split it into am & pm events." "
""The @ucdavis graduation today was an experience," @cchavisd12 said. "I flew cross country to see my sister in law graduate and she didn’t walk. I’m not sure who decided that an outdoor graduation in June was a good idea here…"
""...UC Davis cancelled our graduation!! We were not allowed to walk the stage and told us to go home!!" @JoonKookStyless wrote. "Over 2k students could not walk the stage. This was poor planning from the school and we demand a proper explanation from the school board!!"
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This year marked the first time UC Davis consolidated what used to be seven undergraduate ceremonies, held at University Credit Union Center, into three and moving them to the larger Health Stadium. "The plan was announced in 2019 before the pandemic altered graduation plans in 2020 and 2021," the university said in a press release.
"Students SFGATE spoke to said there was no shade.
They said the university ran of water and students and families weren't allowed to bring in their own drinks."
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/UC-Davis-graduation-canceled-amid-heat-17233868.php