Syracuse University’s Department of Public Safety is preparing for more than 14,000 people to attend the joint commencement ceremony of SU and SUNY-ESF on May 11.

DPS Associate Chief John Sardino said the preparation for this year’s ceremony began the day after last year’s commencement, but some planning can’t be done until closer to the ceremony.

“One of the main variables that we don’t know about until we get closer to the ceremony is who the speaker is going to be,” he said. “The speaker has a big part to do with our preparation.”

This year’s speaker is David Remnick, the editor of The New Yorker. Past commencement speakers include Vice President Joe Biden, Billy Joel and Bill Clinton in 2009, 2006 and 2003, respectively. About 22,000 people attended the 2009 ceremony and Biden’s commencement address, Sardino said.

The preparation for a higher-profile speaker is different than for a lesser-known name, Sardino said.

“If we have a Joe Biden here like we did a few years ago, security is going to be at a whole different level,” he said. “This year, although highly acclaimed, this year’s speaker most people won’t recognize walking down the street and that makes a big difference in what we do and how we plan.”

Even with differing degrees of name recognition, the model that is used for entry into the Carrier Dome for commencement is a layered system and is the same every year, Sardino said.

The system starts with Syracuse Police Department officers working the traffic detail and follows with SU Parking Services employees, who look closely at who is coming into the parking lots and the Dome, Sardino said.

Before entering the Dome, attendees are screened with a wand by Carrier Dome security. Dome security will be dressed in suits and ties, rather than their usual bright yellow jackets, Sardino said. The fourth layer of the system is upon entry into the Dome, where either an SPD or DPS officer will be stationed at the turnstile observing who and what is coming into the Dome.

Once the ceremony begins, DPS monitors the Dome using closed-circuit television, ushers and strategically placed DPS officers, Sardino said. There will be around 20 uniformed SPD and DPS officers in the Dome during the ceremony, as well as four or five plainclothes officers, he said.

“The reason for the plain-clothed officers is if there was an unexpected event, other than an illness or a medical emergency, those plain-clothed officers would deal with the situation as low-key as possible as to not disturb the ceremony,” he said.

The process for exiting is similar to the process for entering the ceremony, with each individual passing through four security stations on their way out, Sardino said.

He said DPS hopes to help make the ceremony enjoyable and wants to make sure everything runs smoothly.

“We want to make sure things run as smoothly as possible and be as prepared as possible for whatever might happen,” Sardino said. “We have been really fortunate that other than the occasional medical emergency, we haven’t really had a lot of incidents or issues at a commencement ceremony in years.”

Published on May 8, 2014 at 2:30 am

Contact Justin: jmatting@syr.edu | @jmattingly306