DAVIS, Calif. — UC Davis is offering graduates a regalia refund of $58 after some students did not get to get to walk across the graduation stage.
On Friday, UC Davis stopped the ceremony because of the heat. According to Kat Kerlin with UC Davis, six people were taken to local hospitals after first responders received 35 medical calls due to the heat at Friday's commencement ceremony.
The University invited students who did not get to walk at Friday's graduation to the separate ceremonies on Saturday and Sunday. During Saturday morning's ceremony, graduates walked the stage in spite of the University's previous update indicating that students would not be allowed to do so.
Following this weekend's events, UC Davis told graduates who were not able to walk across the stage on Friday or Saturday that they would be offering them a regalia refund of $58 to cover the cost of their cap, gown and tassel.
Many students and their families took to social media to express their frustration with the decision.
What led up to the decision to cancel Friday's commencement amid the ceremony?
In a statement, UC Davis Chancellor Gary May explained the decision-making process behind canceling Friday's ceremony.
"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 a statement. "I apologize for the pain, anger and frustration many of you have experienced and expressed."
May says this was the first time the university held commencement at the UC Davis Health Stadium as they felt it was "a more appropriate setting" to hold an event of this size.
May says the university recognized that it can be extremely hot in Davis in June, which is why they had planned to start commencement at 8 a.m. and end it earlier to avoid the hottest part of the day. The university says as they became aware of the extreme heat forecasted on Friday, they enhanced their safety plan by adding more cooling stations, misters, shade tents, water stations and cooling buses.
"The temperature in the stadium on Friday rose earlier than expected," May says. "We were informed at about 11:30 a.m. that conditions had deteriorated significantly and reached a point when it was unsafe to continue."
Following Friday's commencement, UC Davis changed the plans for Saturday's commencement ceremony.
"After we shared that update with you, we heard from many of you about how important it was that you could cross the stage and have your name announced, so we listened and changed the program early Saturday morning based on your feedback," May says. "Because of the revisions we made to Saturday and Sunday’s ceremonies, we made it possible for everyone who attended either ceremony to be recognized on stage."
Additionally, the university will be sending a survey to impacted students, gathering their feedback about a potential makeup commencement.
"We know this is one of the most exciting & rewarding days in students’ lives, and sharing in your joy in meeting this milestone is very meaningful," UC Davis says. "We do not take the weekend’s outcomes lightly and are undertaking a comprehensive review of the events with campus stakeholders to ensure that we do better in the future."
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