UC Davis ran low on water as extreme heat halted graduation
The University of California, Davis added infrastructure like misters, water stations and “cooling buses” a week ahead of Friday’s botched graduation ceremony, but ran low on drinking water as the event ran far behind schedule and as paramedics responded to dozens of heatrelated episodes before noon, university Chancellor Gary S. May acknowledged in a Monday letter to students, faculty and families.
Extreme temperatures brought an abrupt end to graduation proceedings at the university’s football stadium before well over half of the day’s roughly 2,300 undergraduates had the chance to cross the stage.
Temperatures in Davis reached the mid-90s late Friday morning ahead of forecast highs near 105 degrees in the capital region. Downtown Sacramento hit 104, according to the National Weather Service.
A spokeswoman said the campus received 36 heat-related medical aid calls during Friday’s ceremony, and seven attendees had to be taken to hospitals.
“Commencement did not go as planned, and while we did our best to mitigate against the rising temperatures on Friday morning, I know it was not enough,” May wrote in Monday’s letter. “I apologize for the pain, anger and frustration many of you have experienced and expressed.”
May said the university within the next few days will “undertake a comprehensive review of the events with a variety of campus stakeholders.”
The university is offering a $58 refund for caps, gowns and tassels to those who did not get to walk at graduation Friday or Saturday, May said.
The chancellor also said UC Davis is working on a student survey to gather feedback for the timing and details of a makeup event.
May said the university’s “original planning” included an option that would have let some watch a live stream of the ceremony “from the air-conditioned University Credit Union Center” at the campus. According to a UC Davis spokeswoman, that option remained in place for all ceremonies this weekend.
“We were informed at about 11:30 a.m. that conditions had deteriorated significantly and reached a point when it was unsafe to continue,” May’s statement regarding Friday continued.
The ceremony began at 8 a.m. and had been scheduled to end by 10 a.m., according to the schedule on the university website, though May in his letter said it was to conclude “before 11 a.m.”
“At the same time, our water on hand began running low, and we did not have a way to bring more supplies to the stadium quickly enough to serve all of the people in need,” the chancellor said. “Our attention turned to our students on the field, where it was hottest, and where there was no access to shade.”