Recent commencement disrupted by crowd?s reaction to invited speaker?s agenda
December 17, 2001
Outbursts of boos and heckles in response to the invited speaker’s choice of content for Sacramento State’s Saturday commencement ceremony resulted in an unprecedented turn of events that left graduates, audience members and administrators with mixed emotions.
The outbursts were in response to the speech Janis Besler Heaphy, president and publisher of The Sacramento Bee, gave to a packed house at Arco Arena. Heaphy chose to speak about American civil liberties and the potential threats Americans face as a result of the federal government?s reaction to the Sept. 11 attacks. Audience members reacted when the content of Heaphy?s speech began focusing on racial profiling, government surveillance powers and the establishment of a secret military tribunal that would be used to try accused terrorist.
President Donald Gerth intervened soon after the initial outburst began by asking the audience to quiet down. Heaphy returned to her speech but stopped when the outbursts continued.
After Gerth?s second intervention, Heaphy said she did not wish to continue and returned to her seat where administrators consoled her.
“It was like the entire crowd was in unison and upset about how the speech didn’t seem to tie in with our graduation one bit,” said Paul Serrano a Communication Studies graduate.
“And when she sat down after the second uprising, the atmosphere at least in the graduate’s section wasn’t that of anger–everyone was just happy to be graduating,” added Serrano.
The ceremony proceeded with the graduates receiving their certificates of completion. Gerth concluded the ceremony by announcing that the full-text version of Heaphy?s speech would be available on the University?s Web site the following Monday.
Gerth?s comments on the events are posted on the Sac State Public Affairs Web site.
In an interview with The Sacramento Bee, Heaphy said she decided her message should emphasize the need to continue to embrace the traditions of liberty that are at the core of American democracy.
Dawn Shanoff, a parent at the commencement, commented that the content of Heaphy?s speech was inappropriate.
“The graduates deserved more credit,” Shanoff said.
“They are all very aware of the controversies surrounding the government?s reaction to Sept. 11, the graduates deserved some guidance and advice on how to survive in today?s struggling work force,” Shanoff said. “The speaker left the graduates without anything to look forward to, and very little words of encouragement or congratulations.”
A local radio station held a call-in segment Monday morning to get community feedback regarding Saturday’s events. Several graduates that were at the ceremony called in to comment on the lack of attention they received from the administration following Heaphy’s decision to terminate her speech.
According to several audience memebers, students in support of Heaphy?s ideas personally apologized for the outburst after the ceremony.
Gerth included in his comments that one student brought a written message of apology and regret that was signed by a group of students.
The commencement was the second of two held this past weekend and included students from the Colleges of Business Administration, Arts and Letters, Health and Human Services, and Engineering and Computer Sciences.