Overheated Graduation at Davis

The graduation at UC-Davis had to be stopped due to heat. Lest you think that such developments are confined to campuses such as Davis that are inland, it is worth noting that on April 8th of this year, temperatures in Westwood were in the 90s. There will need to be a Plan B for graduation ceremonies on all campuses that hold them outdoors. (And, of course, moving them indoors raises COVID risks.)

'People getting taken by ambulance': UC Davis cuts graduation short amid scorching heat

Amy Graff, SFGATE, June 10, 2022

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. Students on Twitter reported that people with heat-related illnesses were taken away in ambulances at Health Stadium and the university said 34 calls were made for medical-related service and five people were transported to area hospitals during the commencement. (The UC Davis Fire Department didn't immediately respond to a request to confirm how many of those calls were heat related.)

"To see how @ucdavis handled today’s graduation is bulls---" wrote @tanyacasas_. "Watching people getting taken by ambulance left and right while others leave bc they are on the verge of passing out from heat stroke. This Is a joke."

The event, the first of three undergraduate ceremonies, started at 8 a.m. to take advantage of cooler morning temperatures. 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." She added: "I know campus has tried to make up for the past few years, so I'm a little confused that this was handled in the way it was because I know they said this was a priority."

The heat was no surprise as earlier this week the National Weather Service began warning of dangerously high temperatures on Friday. "We are expecting temperatures in the Davis area up to 105 today, potentially 106," Sierra Littlefield, a meteorologist with the weather service's Sacramento office, told SFGATE at noon Friday. "Excessive heat warning is in effect that covers the Davis area." ...

Full story at https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/UC-Davis-graduation-canceled-amid-heat-17233868.php.

UC-Davis statement at:

https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/statement-fridays-undergraduate-commencement.