AI reader – At Glendale Community College’s commencement outside Phoenix, students crossed the stage without their names being called—triggering a roughly 10-minute stoppage and boos from the audience after the president said the mistake came from a new AI system used as
The first time something went wrong at Glendale Community College’s graduation outside Phoenix, Arizona, it happened quietly.
Lorelei Konopka. the college’s vice president of academic affairs. stepped to the microphone and asked the audience to “give us one second.” Then President Tiffany Hernandez approached the lectern to explain why several students’ names weren’t being called as they crossed the stage—and why others seemed stuck waiting because they couldn’t hear their name at all.
Hernandez said the college was “using a new AI system as our reader,” adding, “That’s a lesson learned for us.”
The consequences were immediate. The ceremony ground to a halt for about 10 minutes. with students unable to proceed as planned and families forced to sit through long pauses. When Hernandez addressed the crowd again. she said she would have to “disappoint many of you” by not letting graduates walk a second time with their names read aloud.
“I’m so sorry,” Hernandez said. “There’s plenty of opportunities, I hope, to take some really good pictures, and to celebrate you with your loved ones as well.”
The audience booed when Hernandez mentioned the AI system. It wasn’t the first time students had reacted this way during graduation season—booing has cropped up “at a handful of commencements.” In those cases. the disruptions were usually tied to references during speeches rather than an AI-powered ceremony misfire.
After the boos, Konopka returned to the lectern with a joke that underscored how quickly the room had shifted. “I have the part of the ceremony that doesn’t require AI,” she said.
When the pause stretched on, Hernandez finally announced a change of course. Students would be able to walk again, but this time “a human would announce their names.”
“Here’s where pivoting works best,” she said.
A Glendale Community College representative later wrote in an email to Business Insider that a “technical issue” caused some graduates not to be named. The representative said the issue was corrected during the ceremony. and added: “We are sorry for the disruption it caused during what should have been a celebratory moment for our graduates and their families. We have also communicated directly with graduates to apologize for the experience.”.
One graduate, Grace Reimer, told AZ Family that she realized something was off when she didn’t hear much cheering during her walk. Reimer also posted a screenshot of a letter from President Tiffany Hernandez on TikTok.
In that letter, Hernandez wrote that the college was “actively reviewing” the issue, and the letter contained no reference to AI.
The incident landed in the middle of a wider public dispute over how students view automation in high-profile moments. Earlier in the same graduation season, University of Arizona students booed references to AI and automation during former Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s commencement address.
At the University of Central Florida, real estate executive Gloria Caulfield was booed at one of its commencement ceremonies. Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta was also booed at Middle Tennessee State University.
Borchetta’s response was blunt: “Then do something about it. It’s a tool. Make it work for you.”
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