OXFORD -- A few of the nearly 3,000 students who graduated from Miami University Sunday will be watching their mailboxes over the next few weeks. They won't learn until then whether they will receive their degrees, following disturbances that broke out in downtown Oxford on Thursday and Friday nights. About 45 people -- mostly students and at least eight of them seniors -- were arrested on misdemeanor charges after end-of-school celebrations erupted into clashes with police, vandalism and bottle throwing.
James C. Garland, university president, said a judicial board will review the behavior of the graduating seniors involved and will decide whether they will receive diplomas.
He said he didn't know whether the board had the authority to withhold the diplomas for a certain amount of time -- or indefinitely. "It's too soon to tell," said Mr. Garland, who addressed the students and families at morning and afternoon ceremonies.
Millett Hall has seating for 9,100, and officials said about 3,000 more watched from hallways during each session.
As Mr. Garland addressed the students, he pointed out they had seen many historical events in their four years at Miami. "You've seen the Dow Jones rise and rise and rise, and the Whitewater investigation go on and on and on, and the Oxford water tower stay and stay and stay," he said.
To some boos and catcalls, Mr. Garland noted the students had seen the university change the name of its mascot from the Miami Redskins to the Miami RedHawks, after complaints from American Indians.
"And through all of this, you managed to get a darn good education," he said.
Mr. Garland paid tribute to a Butler County family with two people in Sunday's graduating class.
Sarah Brossart, the youngest of eight children, earned bachelor's of science degrees in education and French. Her mother, Mary Rita Brossart, earned a bachelor's of arts degree in sociology. The family is from Ross Township.
"Definitely a different kind of Mother's Day," laughed Mrs. Brossart, who plans to pursue a master's degree in sociology.
More than 10 percent of Miami's graduates -- 387 -- earned cum laude honors (3.5 grade point average), while 144 were magna cum laude (3.75). Another 79 graduated summa cum laude (3.9). "That's unbelievable," Mr. Garland said.
Dana DiFilippo contributed.
