Last week’s commencement ceremony at the University of California, Berkeley, was a disappointment to many students, many of whom could not get to their seats by the time the ceremony started, SFGate reported.
Thousands of students had to enter through just a few metal detectors.
The audio was “muffled,” SFGate said, so many students couldn’t hear. Many students left their seats to talk with friends, leaving many seats empty.
“It was just really difficult.” Anjika Pai, a commencement speaker, said, of people leaving during the speeches. “From what I’ve heard, it wasn’t because people were like, ‘Well, I’m bored. I want to go’ … people genuinely couldn’t hear it.”
A university spokeswoman said, “Over all this was a very successful event—members of our community were excited to celebrate in person, and ultimately there were relatively few complaints. This was one of the most successful commencement ceremonies that we’ve ever had.”
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