Bowie State University student says family was denied entry to her graduation
Despite having tickets to the ceremony, Aja Williams' family could not get into the venue to see her walk across the stage
Aja Williams says although her family members had tickets to gain entry to the winter commencement ceremony they were refused entry because of an already at-capacity venue.
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A Bowie State University student graduated this past Friday without her family in the audience.
Aja Williams says although her family members had tickets to gain entry to the winter commencement ceremony they were refused entry because of an already at-capacity venue, according to Fox 5 DC.
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Williams’ family reportedly isn’t alone. Many families were denied entry into the Leonidas S. James Physical Education Complex because there was simply no room. The school has overflow rooms to accommodate family members and friends without tickets, although those with tickets are supposed to be allowed entry.
Williams says her family wasn’t and this is unacceptable. The new grad says she hopes university officials will choose a larger venue for future graduations.
“We spend thousands of dollars here, hundreds of hours studying and I just want them to realize that they need to be worried about accommodating the students first,” Williams told Fox 5.
At least one Bowie alumni agrees but said previous graduates are to blame for the on-campus conundrum.
“I am a Bowie alum and Bowie’s graduations use to take place in a larger venue (Xfinity Center) but graduates complained that they couldn’t take pictures on their own campus and/or Greek plots sooo it was moved back to the limited space of the gym and football field in the summer,” labella_mafiaa wrote on Fox 5’s Instagram page.
“There’s literally no way to accommodate everyone and people have to understand that. I will say that Bowie should monitor the amount of tickets given out if (it) continue(s) to have the graduation at Bowie so that if a family is late they will be able to still come in because they will be accounted for.”
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Bowie officials also released a statement to Fox 5 about the mix-up.
“As is customary for our commencement ceremonies, we welcomed a large number of enthusiastic family members to celebrate our graduates on Friday. While tickets were required for admittance into the main venue, we have learned that some persons without tickets were trying to gain entry. We are reviewing our processes to make any needed adjustments to prevent this from occurring in the future,” Bowie officials wrote. “We very much regret that anyone experienced distress on this very important day for their family. We made every effort to accommodate ticketed family members while also providing video viewing in other locations on campus for those without tickets.”
