THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 24, 1996 TAG: 9605240019
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A18 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 43 lines
My daughter graduated from Norfolk State University with a master's degree in education on May 12. I am extremely proud of her.
But the graduation exercises at Norfolk's Scope on May 12 were the poorest excuse for an organized event I have ever witnessed.
Scope's staff did not check invitations and admitted people who had no invitations.
Fifteen seats were allocated to every student for guests; some students had twice that number of guests attend, thus denying family members and guests of other students places in Scope.
One staff person advised my party that seats were available on a first come, first-served basis, that the doors to Scope opened at 11 a.m. and that we should have been at Scope at that time to ensure seats for the 2 p.m. graduation ceremony!
When the staff would admit no more family members and guests of other students to Scope, family members and guests who were shut out were directed to go downstairs to the Exhibition Hall, where three video screens were set up for viewing by guests. The hall was packed so tightly with chairs that it was virtually impossible to view the screens clearly, and there was no audio whatsoever.
As our party departed, we passed by Chrysler Hall, which was closed, dark and locked.
Why weren't these graduation exercises broken alphabetically into two days (there were 1,400 graduates), or why didn't the undergraduates have their exercises one Sunday and the graduate students have their commencement exercises on another Sunday?
We observed tearful family members and guests of other students, some of whom had traveled great distances only to be turned away at the door.
We observed irate family members and guests. We observed disbelieving family members and guests.
President Harrison B. Wilson needs to confer with his graduation-coordinating committee and do a lot of rethinking for next year. The scene at Scope on May 12 was a fiasco.
DEE GALLUP-LAWRENCE
Virginia Beach, May 13, 1996 by CNB