NYU expressed its “most sincere apology” to the hundreds of graduates who waited in line outside Yankee Stadium for what dozens said to be over two hours during this year’s all-university commencement exercises in a Wednesday email sent to graduates obtained by WSN.
The email, signed by university administrators Regina Drew and Guido Ditto, said NYU “has continued conversations with Yankee Stadium to understand what happened” and encouraged students in the class of 2024 to share their feedback on the ceremony in a survey.
“We apologize to all of you whose entry was delayed, and especially to those who grew so frustrated that they chose to leave,” Drew and Ditto wrote in the email. “Your experience was the opposite of what we planned for you, and we’re deeply sorry about that.”
At the May 15 graduation ceremony, hundreds of graduates crowded the entrance to Yankee Stadium over an hour after the commencement exercises were scheduled to begin, with dozens having told WSN they were at the venue for nearly three hours before they were allowed in. While the ceremony was postponed by around an hour, the majority of the group could not enter until after the opening exercises had already begun.
In the email, Drew and Ditto wrote that as the ceremony began, they had “worked urgently with Yankee Stadium to address the issue” but that this “still didn’t solve the problem sufficiently.” Dozens standing outside the stadium chanted “Let us in,” with security personnel redirecting graduates to several different entrances to accommodate the crowd size.
A university spokesperson and Yankee Stadium did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Contact Dharma Niles at dniles@nyunews.com.
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