A three-year agreement between the University and Wake County which allowed area high schools to use Reynolds Coliseum for their graduation ceremonies will come to an end with the completion of the new Raleigh Convention Center.
The partnership has benefited both N.C. State and Wake County, according to Adina Stock, a facilities scheduling coordinator for the University.
Ten local high schools held ceremonies at Reynolds, with graduations beginning at the end of May and ending with four ceremonies on June 14. Southeast Raleigh High School, Millbrook High School, Garner High School and several others used the space and resources available at Reynolds.
“We were approached by Wake County when they knew the Civic Center would not be available for their use,” Stock said in an e-mail Tuesday. “Wake County was able to put some high schools in different locations but the bigger schools were put in Reynolds Coliseum.”
Jessie Kvantas, a freshman in textile technology who graduated in Reynolds Coliseum in 2007 from Wake-Forest Rolesville High School, said while graduating in Reynolds was different, the size of the building hindered everyone from having ample tickets for family and friends.
“The only thing that stunk was the fact that there was really limited seating,” she said. “We couldn’t get that many tickets — but other than that it was fine.”
Although the University did not charge Wake County a rental fee to use the facility, the school system reimbursed the University based on the involvement of different groups on campus, including Campus Police, Fire Safety and Transportation.
“Wake County was responsible for reimbursing all groups involved in the graduations,” Stock said. “Athletics facilities, Campus Police, EMS, Transportation and other items were rented in order to make these events happen.”
Capt. Jon Barnwell of Campus Police said various entities were involved in the staffing and safety of several graduation ceremonies held at Reynolds this year and in 2006 and 2007.
“We were responsible for making sure the Coliseum was a safe and enjoyable environment for everyone,” he said. “Each event is unique in and of itself. Obviously a political rally, a sporting event and a graduation are different, but the premise is basically the same when you’re looking at the safety of self and others.”
Along with Campus Police, Barnwell said groups like Campus Fire Safety, Transportation, Athletics and even Environmental Protection were present at different ceremonies. Because of the smoke from the Hyde County wildfire, environmental safety staff was brought in to test air in Reynolds to ensure the safety of graduation attendees.
“The wildfire threw a wrench in the plans,” he said. “We had one of our environmental health and safety technicians come over to test the air the air to make sure there were no potential hazards from the smoke.”
Beginning in 2009, graduations for large Wake County high schools will be held in the new Raleigh Convention Center, something that Kvantas said she would have looked forward to had she had the opportunity.
“I would be excited to graduate there because of how new the building is and how many people you could fit in there,” she said.
