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  #1  
Old 05-07-2018, 09:43 AM
ASTalumna06 ASTalumna06 is offline
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University of Florida graduates dragged off stage while receiving diplomas

https://abcnews.go.com/US/university...ry?id=54979432

Quote:
The University of Florida apologized on Sunday after students complained about the behavior of an usher who they claimed manhandled graduates during a spring commencement ceremony over the weekend.
.....
Oliver Telusma was also aggressively removed from the stage when he tried to celebrate.

“I had just started, and he picked me up and turned me around, which I thought was kind of embarrassing and degrading to be handled in that manner,” the 21-year-old Telusma told The Gainesville Sun.

Telusma, a member of the Beta Sigma chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, said he had to shove the usher in order to break free of his grip.
.....
University of Florida graduate Christopher Garcia-Wilde said the usher appeared to only shove black students who wanted to celebrate on stage “by strolling, which is a cultural tradition in historically black fraternities and sororities.” Other students who took slightly more time on stage were rushed, but not in an aggressive manner, he said.

“It’s a tradition to stroll at graduation if you choose to, and people have been doing this for years,” Garcia-Wilde, 22, told The Gainesville Sun on Sunday. “I was actually too afraid [to stroll] because I saw him shove other people.

“But my two friends who graduated with me really wanted to do it, so they tried. They both were pushed and one of them got an entire bear hug,” he added.

Telusma, one of Garcia-Wilde's friends who was manhandled on stage, said the usher's behavior was undoubtedly racist.
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  #2  
Old 05-07-2018, 04:20 PM
APhi2KD APhi2KD is offline
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I saw that and was stunned! I know “over celebrating” has caused issues at graduation ceremonies the last few years but these graduates didn’t seem to be interrupting the process. Regardless, it was shameful.
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  #3  
Old 05-07-2018, 10:36 PM
thetalady thetalady is offline
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At my own graduation ceremony, our friends and relatives were asked not to even clap, so that the ceremony could move faster. I am surprised that strolling has ever been permitted in a school where there are hundreds and hundreds of graduates who all deserve their moment on the stage.
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  #4  
Old 05-08-2018, 12:10 PM
carnation carnation is offline
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This is true. What if everybody strolled? Do we want to be there for hours?

I have seen it handled this way--the names were called at a rapid clip and if anyone strolled, the next person came ripping right past him--they don't get their real diplomas in a massive graduation anyway. Why do people think that with hundreds upon hundreds of grads, colleges have time for this?
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  #5  
Old 05-08-2018, 01:25 PM
ASTalumna06 ASTalumna06 is offline
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Originally Posted by carnation View Post
This is true. What if everybody strolled? Do we want to be there for hours?

I have seen it handled this way--the names were called at a rapid clip and if anyone strolled, the next person came ripping right past him--they don't get their real diplomas in a massive graduation anyway. Why do people think that with hundreds upon hundreds of grads, colleges have time for this?
I agree. However, if no rules were laid out and strolling has been permitted in the past, I can't blame these students for being surprised when a random stranger on stage manhandled them during their special moment.
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  #6  
Old 05-08-2018, 01:57 PM
SydneyK SydneyK is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ASTalumna06 View Post
I agree. However, if no rules were laid out and strolling has been permitted in the past, I can't blame these students for being surprised when a random stranger on stage manhandled them during their special moment.
I feel certain the rules were laid out ahead of time. An event of this size doesn't happen without some kind of information being distributed.

The article said there were nearly 10000 students in the Spring 2018 graduating class. One of the people quoted in the article complained that graduates should get to celebrate for 4 seconds if they want to. Assuming only half of the spring graduates participate in commencement, at 4 seconds per graduate, that's 20,000 seconds of celebrating/strolling. That's 5 1/2 hours of names being read! Let alone filing in/out of graduates and other aspects of the program. To think a ceremony should go on this long is laughable.

ETA: Not saying anyone here thinks a ceremony should be this long.
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Old 05-08-2018, 02:25 PM
Tom Earp Tom Earp is offline
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My whole problem with this fiasco is is they said it was only Blacks?

So, my question is, is that TRUE?

If not, then their antics were uncalled for! I do not care if is their Greek Step thing or not! It is a somber occasion of moving on in life.
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  #8  
Old 05-08-2018, 03:43 PM
33girl 33girl is offline
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Wrong, Tom.

According to the article, there were students of all races doing things that would delay the ceremony. The African-American students were the only ones who were moved along with such vehemence. There’s a difference between placing your hand on someone’s back to gently move them along, and brusquely shoving someone or picking them up.
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  #9  
Old 05-08-2018, 07:05 PM
Cheerio Cheerio is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ASTalumna06 View Post
I agree. However, if no rules were laid out and strolling has been permitted in the past, I can't blame these students for being surprised when a random stranger on stage manhandled them during their special moment.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SydneyK View Post
I feel certain the rules were laid out ahead of time. An event of this size doesn't happen without some kind of information being distributed.

The article said there were nearly 10000 students in the Spring 2018 graduating class. One of the people quoted in the article complained that graduates should get to celebrate for 4 seconds if they want to.

Assuming only half of the spring graduates participate in commencement, at 4 seconds per graduate, that's 20,000 seconds of celebrating/strolling. That's 5 1/2 hours of names being read! Let alone filing in/out of graduates and other aspects of the program. To think a ceremony should go on this long is laughable.

ETA: Not saying anyone here thinks a ceremony should be this long.
It surprises me that several graduation ceremonies weren't held, divided by major area of study and/or degree conferred. As stated above, graduating even half a class all-at-once would lead to a very long procession!
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  #10  
Old 05-09-2018, 01:49 PM
Tom Earp Tom Earp is offline
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Originally Posted by 33girl View Post
Wrong, Tom.

According to the article, there were students of all races doing things that would delay the ceremony. The African-American students were the only ones who were moved along with such vehemence. There’s a difference between placing your hand on someone’s back to gently move them along, and brusquely shoving someone or picking them up.
That was the question I was asking if it was Blacks only! You answered that question. If that was the case then, it was WRONG!

But, it is still a disruption for all of the parents/relatives, wives/or children who attended! I I was a parent or wife, I would be PISSED with this kind of crap. If you do not feel this way, I wonder what is wrong with you?
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  #11  
Old 05-09-2018, 06:25 PM
DGTess DGTess is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Earp View Post
That was the question I was asking if it was Blacks only! You answered that question. If that was the case then, it was WRONG!

But, it is still a disruption for all of the parents/relatives, wives/or children who attended! I I was a parent or wife, I would be PISSED with this kind of crap. If you do not feel this way, I wonder what is wrong with you?
I guess I see it another way.

Once a person has done the handshake thing, what s/he does the rest of the way across the stage is not what I'd be watching. I'd be watching the next person to do the handshake. As long as the line keeps moving, I don't really care.

People are generally there to watch one person - or at most a handful - and what the others do is irrelevant.
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  #12  
Old 05-09-2018, 06:49 PM
ggforever ggforever is offline
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The problem is these “rituals” were holding up the line and not allowing others to process across the stage. It was not just graduates of color. On television they clearly showed white students who also thought they were more special than the other 950 graduates, being “assisted” across the stage. When our son graduated they made a request not to clap or make noise until the end. Of course, there were those who felt their student deserved more notice than the rest. I particularly appreciated the family who brought an entire percussion section ((okay only four pieces) and made such a show that we did not hear our son’s name called. This is a ceremony that is supposed to have some dignity attached to it. I do not think the school owes anyone an apology.
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  #13  
Old 05-09-2018, 07:01 PM
FSUZeta FSUZeta is offline
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Right there with you ggforever. Have any of us participated in a graduation ceremony in which no guidelines were shared with graduates who decided to participate? Where you just show up the day of ? I have not.
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  #14  
Old 05-09-2018, 07:09 PM
Cheerio Cheerio is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ggforever View Post
When our son graduated they made a request not to clap or make noise until the end. Of course, there were those who felt their student deserved more notice than the rest. I particularly appreciated the family who brought an entire percussion section ((okay only four pieces) and made such a show that we did not hear our son’s name called. This is a ceremony that is supposed to have some dignity attached to it. I do not think the school owes anyone an apology.
Just this morning on the television news: a school is considering fining any family heard clapping during the graduation ceremony $1000.00+. Not sure what school fund the fines will go toward.
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  #15  
Old 05-09-2018, 08:13 PM
carnation carnation is offline
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I harbor much hate for the families who blast air horns in closed arenas, even though grads have been given a list of not-permitted behavior and announcements are made before the ceremony.
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