Students on Twitter reported that people with heat-related illnesses were transported by ambulance to Health Stadium, and the university said 34 calls were made for medical services and five people were taken to local hospitals during the start. (The UC Davis Fire Department did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation of how many of these calls involved heat.) “To see how @ucdavis handled today’s graduation are bulls —” wrote @tanyacasas_. “Seeing people take the ambulance left and right while others leave BC, they are on the verge of fainting from heatstroke. This is a joke.” For students / families on the field IMMEDIATELY – it is extremely hot. If you have passed the stage, you do NOT need to stay until the end. Do not hesitate to leave and head to Hutchison Field where there is cold water and air conditioning at UCenter. We are working on the announcement of the stadium – UC Davis (@ucdavis) June 10, 2022 The event, the first of three undergraduate ceremonies, started at 8 a.m. to take advantage of the cooler morning temperatures. After three hours, many students still had to cross the stage and receive their degrees. The university announced shortly after 11 a.m. that it was suspending the ceremony due to health and public safety concerns due to the heat. Ashley Hicks, a student who attended the ceremony, said she was confused by the design of the university. “Distributed between 8 p.m. and 10 a.m. and the procession of students entering their seats did not end until 9:30 a.m. The procession occupied an hour and a half of the year “. He added: “I know the campus has been trying to make up for it in recent years, so I’m a little confused that it was treated the way it was because I know they said it was a priority.” Dangerous heat is forecast on Friday for much of the valley and the foothills. High temperatures during the day with warm lows at night will create a high risk of heat-related effects for the general population. Visit for heat preparation tips. 🌡️ #CAwx pic.twitter.com/iBLtolKclb – NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) June 8, 2022 The heat came as no surprise as earlier this week the National Meteorological Service began warning of dangerously high temperatures on Friday. “We expect temperatures in the Davis area to be as high as 105 degrees Celsius today, probably 106,” said Sierra Littlefield, a meteorologist with the Sacramento Meteorological Service, at SFGATE on Friday afternoon. “There is a warning of extreme heat covering the Davis area.” Littlefield explained that an overheating warning means that anyone can be affected by the heat by staying outdoors for long periods of time. “Whenever it is hot like this, we advise people to avoid staying outdoors for extended periods during the hottest times of the day.” As of noon Friday, some counters on UC Davis campus were reporting temperatures of up to 94 degrees, with mercury rising, Littlefield said. Due to health and public safety concerns due to the heat, we had to end today’s opening ceremony earlier. We are deeply sorry that some students did not have the opportunity to cross the stage. We know this was disappointing and we will have more information later today: pic.twitter.com/c5rgQphpPt – UC Davis (@ucdavis) June 10, 2022 Many parents and family members have expressed concern on social media. “As a concerned parent, he spoke on Twitter a few weeks ago about the poor choice of an outdoor event in the heat of California,” @ 4katluvrs tweeted. “This should be an indoor event like in previous years. Divide it into morning and afternoon events.” “@Ucdavis graduation today was an experience,” said @ cchavisd12. “I flew to see my sister-in-law, a law graduate, and she did not walk. I’m not sure who decided that an outdoor graduation in June was a good idea here …” “UC Davis canceled our graduation !! They did not allow us to walk on stage and told us to go home !!” Written by @JoonKookStyless. “More than 2,000 students could not walk on stage. This was bad planning by the school and we demand a proper explanation from the school board!” This year was the first time that UC Davis combined seven undergraduate ceremonies, held at the University Credit Union Center, into three and transported them to the largest Health Stadium. “The plan was announced in 2019 before the pandemic changed graduation plans in 2020 and 2021,” the university said in a press release. The students SFGATE spoke to said there was no shadow. They said the university had water and students and families were not allowed to bring their own drinks. The university said in an email to SFGATE that it provided fans and misters, cooling stations and cooling buses. Participants were also offered the opportunity to watch the ceremony live on the University Credit Union.
“We are deeply saddened that some students have not had the opportunity to cross the stage,” the university said in a statement posted online. “Chancellor Gary S. May and Professor Mary Croughan are inviting any of these students who were unable to walk to return with their families for a special ceremony this Sunday. We appreciate your understanding and know that this has been disappointing.” This is a growing story and details will be added as soon as they become available.