Howard University cancels nurses' graduation mid-ceremony after door is smashed

Howard University cancelled a graduation ceremony for the College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences an hour into the ceremony Thursday.

Video shows a smashed door at the Cramton Auditorium and a group of people outside of the building.

The Hilltop, the student newspaper at Howard University, reported that crowds formed two hours ahead of the 6 p.m. start of the ceremony. The event was not ticketed.

The paper reported that university security closed the doors to the building's foyer after it reached its approximately 1,500 seat capacity. There were to be 280 degrees awarded during the ceremony and the university's page for the ceremony says the auditorium can handle, "an estimated 3-4 attendees per graduate."

“Because of the size of the room, and because our relatives sometimes do not know how to act, the fire department is now here to shut us down,” CNAHS Dean Gina Spivey-Brown said to the crowd after the keynote speaker was asked to pause his speech, according to The Hilltop.

Fire officials dispute reason for cancellation

Fire officials told ABC affiliate WJLA that they did not stop the ceremony.

"At 6:42 p.m. we responded to the Cramton Auditorium for a medical call at the request of campus police. The patient was evaluated and refused transport and D.C. Fire and EMS departed," Noah Gray, the Chief Communications Officer for D.C. Fire and EMS wrote to the station.

The university apologized for the cancellation in a Friday statement and said that it would review its crowd control policies.

"Looking forward, we are committed to implementing measures to better manage crowd capacity and enhance the graduation ceremony experience," the university said.

Nursing class recognized, apologized to at commencement.

Howard President Ben Vinson III recognized the college's graduates during the university's commencement ceremony Saturday, according to the Hilltop.

"We apologize for the events that you endured this week, but we stand here to salute you,” Vinson said.

The college's ceremony resumed after the commencement, according to The Hilltop.