‘Let us in!' Howard U. nursing graduation cut off after venue reaches capacity

A graduation ceremony for nursing students at Howard University ended abruptly Thursday after the auditorium reached capacity.

Families filled Cramton Auditorium to watch students in the College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences walk across the stage. But as they walked, dozens of loved ones were locked out, with some trying to push their way in.

“Let us in! Let us in!” some chanted.

“While they were doing the keynote speaker, there was, like, loud banging, even before that, for like 10 minutes straight,” graduate Bria Flowers said. “Just like boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.”

“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,” Dr. Gina S. Brown, dean of the College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences, told the crowd to a chorus of boos.

But D.C. Fire and EMS denied shutting down the ceremony.

"D.C. Fire and EMS did not shut down tonight’s event,” the department said in a statement. “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."

“I’m confused why it got so crazy, how it got so quick, so bad so fast,” graduate Kiana Hamilton said.

A glass door broke during the commotion.

“Glass started getting broken,” graduate Halle Ragoonanan. “One of my classmate’s hands got cut.”

Howard said security removed someone from the building prior to the ceremony. That person returned and broke a window.

"This incident led to a disturbance among guests outside of the facility, resulting in a disruption of the program,” Howard’s statement said. “Guests in attendance were immediately dispersed following this incident."

One student was treated for a cut.

Ragoonanan said her heart was broken as she and her family looked to make up for moments they missed because of the pandemic.

“I didn’t even get to walk,” she lamented. “I didn’t get to walk. 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.”

“All the money we spent,” another graduate said. “My father and grandmother came down from North Carolina.”

Some of those students will get to walk this weekend. The university’s main commencement ceremony is scheduled for Saturday.

The school plans to give individual awards to students Friday.