This past Saturday, the University of Florida had its graduation ceremony for the class of 2017-2018, and many seniors had hoped to enjoy their last night in the college that they spent that last four years working in. However, a certain marshal that was present at the ceremony was rushing students along the stage, as they walked or performed celebratory dances to enjoy their graduation.

   Some students, faculty, and other present at the scene said the marshal, who has and will remain unnamed, was showing signs of slight racism toward the African American graduates, as he seemed to handle them with less care and wanted them off of the stage.

   The school sent out an apology to address this claim of racist treatment, stating that they are proud of all of their students accomplishments, and did not favor any one student over another.

   Kent Fuchs, University of Florida’s School President, tweeted out an apologetic statement acknowledging his disappointment in his staff if they made anyone’s graduation night less satisfactory than they had hoped for. He also stated that he was partly responsible for rushing student off of the stage and he was the one who put the policy into place, and the current idea behind his actions is that he wanted to keep the students dances and celebrations to a minimum so that every student would get their chance in the spotlight.  

   “I think that it was alright for them to consider other student’s feelings, but I also think that they should have let the students enjoy their time on stage, as it could have put a damper on the whole night for them” Surya Venugopal (‘18).

   He also stated that this idea, now being perceived as cruel and unnecessary, will be discontinued in the years to come.

   The marshal who was present at the ceremony is under probation from the school and is on paid leave until the school board comes up with a fair punishment or decides that he was not at fault, and the President has noted that they will not comment, support, or defame the marshal in anyway until the end of their board review.