Decisions, Decisions: Overcrowding Issues Plague Upcoming Graduations

By Brenda Cabaniss

Now that the Ides of March has passed, Easter is a mere distant memory of white rabbits and colorful eggs. The next thing to look forward to are May flowers, right?  Well, for most people yes, but for many students and parents across the country--it’s graduation. Included in that eager bunch are University of Houston-Clear Lake students. This year, graduates get a little added surprise.  
Students planning to graduate spring 2009 have one more item to add to their never-ending, To-Do List. Now, UHCL seniors have the pleasure of deciding which family members get to partake in the graduation festivities because for this semester’s ceremony graduates are being asked to “voluntarily restrict” their guest lists.
“This year, the university is asking that graduates limit their guests to five,” said Paul Willingham, chief of police for UHCL.
The request is not to add another burden to students. Instead, school officials are requesting the limit as a safety precaution. They want to avoid overcapacity problems that have plagued UHCL graduation ceremonies in the past.
At last December’s ceremony, for example, crowd control was an issue when Reliant Arena’s maximum capacity limit was exceeded by 1,000 people. Under normal circumstances, the fire marshal would have contacted the security guards at the gates of Reliant Park and had the guards notify arriving guests of the issue. Those guests would have been refused entry into the arena. However, that was not done because of a break in communication. Thus, the excess number of people posed a safety hazard.
In order to avoid similar circumstances for next month’s graduation ceremony, UHCL officials are politely asking graduates to keep their invite numbers down.
“Approximately 1100 students have applied for graduation in May,” said Yvette Bendeck, associate vice president for enrollment management. “Of those applicants, 900 students have chosen to participate in the commencement ceremony.”
However, the problem is not with the number of graduates or their guests, but mostly due to the size of the venue. UHCL graduations are held at Reliant Arena. The arena has a seating capacity of 5,800 and an overflow room of 600.
To put things into perspective, take for example a graduate who has been waiting for this moment for 30 years. He is married, has three married children, 10 grandchildren and a few neighbors that have stood by him for the long haul. That alone would be 20 guests for one graduate. Multiply that number by 900 graduates and “Houston, we have a problem.” Even if each graduate only invited 10 guests, the arena would still exceed the capacity limit by 2600 people.  
Nevertheless, UHCL has a solution to the problem. Next month’s graduation ceremony will be streamed live on the Internet. So, people unable to attend the ceremony due to the voluntary restriction, or because their plans did not allow for travel to Houston or for whatever reason, they still have the option to view the ceremony via the World Wide Web. Bendeck says testing is in progress to ensure the feed works properly for the May 16 event.
Although the issue has been somewhat resolved for next month’s graduation, overcrowding remains an even bigger issue for the December graduation, which includes 350 summer students and 1,400 fall students.
Still, Bendeck says Reliant Arena is the best location to hold the UHCL commencement ceremony. In the past, UHCL used the University of Houston’s Hofheiz Pavilion and Moody Gardens, but those venues are now too small. Other venues in the area such as the Toyota Center, Minute Maid Park and Reliant Stadium are unavailable due to conflicts with sporting events.
A committee of faculty, staff and Student Government Association members is currently evaluating the problem. Instead of just appealing to students to keep the guest list to five, two solutions being reviewed are hosting multiple graduation ceremonies and restricting the number of guests per graduate by providing a limited number of tickets to each graduating senior. The committee is asking the SGA to submit their preferences to UHCL President William Staples. Staples will make the final decision.
A decision is expected soon, since the application deadline for UHCL Fall 2009 graduation is in June. Additional information on the December 2009 commencement will be mailed to students in the coming weeks.
Luckily, spring 2009 graduates will not have to face those decisions. Instead, students will be asked to voluntarily restrict their guests to five. Information regarding the voluntary restriction will be mailed along with other graduation material later this month.
In the meantime, guests planning to attend the May commencement should arrive early. The doors of the arena will open at 5 p.m.
“The police department and fire marshal’s office will be more proactive in dispersing dangerous crowding situations and keeping people from saving banks of seats.” Willingham said. “Once the arena reaches its capacity, the entry doors will be closed.”
UHCL Spring 2009 Graduation will be held at Reliant Arena, One Reliant Park, 8400 Kirby Dr., at 7 p.m., on May 16. Parking is $8.