VICKSBURG, MISS– When Warren Central announced Tuesday that graduation was moved and rescheduled, a parent says it became a nightmare for her and her graduating daughter.
“I got a recording Tuesday that graduation was being moved and rescheduled due to rain,” says Lori Hackler, the mother of a Warren Central graduate. The graduation is normally held at Warren Central’s stadium, but was moved to the Vicksburg Convention Center. It was originally slated for Friday, but was moved to Thursday for fears of impending weather.
The families were given 9 tickets. Each graduate could have 9 families members in the auditorium with them to watch them graduate. But Hackler says the system didn’t work.
“Their graduation was right after Vicksburg’s,” says Hackler, “and some Vicksburg folks stayed. They didn’t move them out quickly enough. That made everything late.”
At 7:03 when Hackler approached the door of the auditorium, she and several other parents and family members of other students were escorted to a room upstairs for overflow, to watch on the screen.
“Even with a ticket, we weren’t allowed in to see our child graduate,” says Hackler.
Upstairs, the screen stopped working. There was a curtain covering a window into the auditorium where the graduation was going on.
“Some of the parents were so aggravated with the screen freezing they opened the curtain,” says Hackler, “then police came in with their hands on their guns and told everyone to back up and sit down.”
Hackler says she was pushed by a security guard.
“Never in my 46 years have I ever seen anything like this,” says Hackler. Hackler says she went to the Warren County School District superintendents office this morning, but spoke with his secretary, as he had not arrived yet.
News Mississippi contacted Warren Central High School, and was redirected to the school district. A message was left for the superintendent, but no response just yet.
Here’s the entire phone conversation with Hackler:
