FAU cancels graduation over threat
Campus evacuated near auditorium due to note about 5 p.m. ceremony.
BOCA RATON — Florida Atlantic University on Tuesday canceled one of its three graduation ceremonies on the Boca Raton campus because of a “credible threat” found on a sticky note in the women’s restroom, police said.
At about 4 p.m., an FAU staff member found a note on a restroom mirror at FAU’s College of Business building that contained an undisclosed threat involving the 5 p.m. graduation ceremony, FAU Police Chief Sean Brammer said.
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John Kelly made the decision to cancel the evening ceremony in which 462 students were scheduled to participate, FAU spokesman Joshua Glanzer said.
Police ordered a partial evacuation of the campus near the Carole and Barry Kaye Auditorium. Officers cleared the scene at about 7:30 p.m. and said an investigation is ongoing. Authorities would not confirm any
further information about the type of threat that was made.
FAU graduate Mandy McDaniel was waiting to file into the auditorium for the 5 p.m. ceremony Tuesday when an administrator announced that the building was being evacuated.
“They said they were bringing in ‘bomb dogs,’” McDaniel said. “My family (already seated) had to leave from the back exit.”
Two graduation ceremonies were held earlier in the day, one at 9 a.m. and another at 1 p.m., Kelly said. The auditorium where the ceremonies took place can hold about 2,200 people at full capacity.
Metal detectors and police dogs were already in place outside the auditorium before the graduation ceremonies started, which Brammer said is standard protocol for commencement ceremonies. “The safety of our students, faculty, staff and visitors is our top priority,” Kelly said. “We understand how disappointed our students must be that today’s final commencement ceremony was canceled. We will try to ensure that they receive the recognition they deserve.”
It is not clear if the ceremony will be rescheduled, but Kelly said school staff is exploring options, such as splitting the students up into existing ceremonies or planning a new ceremony.
“Every effort will be made to give these students the recognition they deserve,” Glanzer said.
Ricardo Arias, another graduate, said his family traveled from Cuba for the ceremony. He said the graduates are “very disappointed” about the cancellation but hopeful the ceremony will be rescheduled.
It is not clear if the ceremony will be rescheduled, but Kelly said school staff is exploring options, such as splitting the students up into existing ceremonies or planning a new ceremony.