NEW ORLEANS—On May 7th Xavier University graduated students destined to be doctors, lawyers, accountants and an assortment of professions. But in the ensuing weeks two incidents have marred high school graduations as students walked across that same stage at the University’s Convocation Center.
Louis Hall, Morris Jeff High school graduate stated, “It ruined my graduation, it definitely did.”
Hall is speaking about the shooting yesterday after the graduation that took the life of an elderly woman and wounded to others. This happened just 2 weeks after a fight during another high school graduation.
Monique Spears is a Xavier alum and she shared her feelings on the incident, “Kinda makes me feel like we’ve gotta take a step back and do a better job of what we’re going to allow to happen on the campus because we have to protect those children.”
The university increased security with metal detectors and more officers after the fight a few weeks ago, but yesterday’s shooting happened in the parking lot of the facility. That this is happening on the beloved campus of their alma mater more alumni are speaking out.
Alumnus Ruston Henry stated, “It’s extremely disrespectful to Xavier and it’s bad press for Xavier even though it didn’t happen to Xavier students but it happened at the facility that they graciously let somebody else use.”
And while some are calling for an outright ban of outside activities at campus facilities, others are calling for compassion for those high school students.
“I feel as though we have to come up with something, some way for these graduations to take place on these campuses to be able to provide for some type of hope for those kids that may want to go there at some point,” said Kelder Summers-Jones.
Spears continued, “Xavier is not just ours, Xavier is this beacon for young black kids to go to and prosper and learn. It’s bigger than just New Orleans.”
The university is not commenting and it is unclear whether more high school graduations are scheduled at the convocation center.