Threat shuts down FAU graduation

Ceremony halted after note on mirror deemed ‘credible’

It was a last-minute decision prompted by a threatening note stuck to a mirror in a women’s bathroom on Florida Atlantic University’s Boca Raton campus that canceled Tuesday evening’s graduation.

A staff member found the small sticky note containing a “credible threat” about 4:15 p.m. in the business building, said Sean Brammer, chief of FAU police.

Brammer, while briefing reporters about the incident, would not divulge anything more specific about the nature of the threat.

“It was a threat specific to our graduation tonight,” he said. “It would hurt the investigation if I told you the specifics of the note.

We took it seriously and canceled the ceremony.”

Students donning their mortar boards and graduation gowns were moments away from marching across the stage to the regal melody of Pomp and Circumstance when they learned their ceremony was canceled.

The university announced its decision via Twitter shortly before the 5 p.m. ceremony was to begin. “The Student Union is being evacuated due to what law enforcement considers a credible threat,” the tweet said.

“We were all kind of frustrated,” said Jackson Gaspard, who earned his bachelor of arts degree in art history. “It was less fear, more so frustration.”

The evening ceremony was to be the third commencement of the day with 462 students, mostly science majors, scheduled to participate. Two other ceremonies went off without a hitch at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.

“We were the last ceremony of the day, everyone else got their graduation,” Gaspard said. “We were so close.”

College President John Kelly told reporters that university officials would figure out how to make it up to students.

“I feel terrible for our students. I’m disappointed as well,” he said. “One of my thrills of the year is graduation.”

One option would be to reschedule the graduation; another would be to blend the canceled ceremony with a fall commencement, he said.

“My goal is to make it right for each person who was deprived of a memorable graduation,” Kelly said. “We’ll look at all our options and try to restore the opportunity that was denied by this threat.”

Ruthie Gordian, of Lake Worth, there to see her daughter Angela graduate, was in line to enter the student union building when everyone was told to leave. When they were ordered to move back all the way to the street, she said a rush of panic surged through the crowd.

“I wasn’t for sure what was going on,” Gordian said. “I just wanted to get out of there and make sure [my daughter] was safe.”

In the end, the cancellation didn’t mar mother or daughter’s celebratory mood.

They said they intended to continue on with their plans to go out to dinner and drink champagne.

Updates about the canceled ceremony can be found at fau.edu/advisory.

YUTAO CHEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER FAU Police Chief Sean Brammer said of the note: “It was a threat specific to our graduation tonight. We took it seriously and canceled the ceremony.”