Distorted graduation speeches blamed on audio delay, B-R superintendent says
BRIDGEWATER — It was the audio delay that distorted how speakers sounded on graduation day, according to Derek Swenson, superintendent of the Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School District.
Accusations were posted on social media following the B-R commencement on June 3 suggesting Swenson and B-R School Committee Chair Lillian Holbrook sounded intoxicated during their comments to the Class of 2022.
“During the ceremony, school and district administration became aware of an audio malfunction that occurred during the salutatorian, school committee chair and my speeches,” Swenson said in a public statement which was distributed to the community through email and social media Wednesday.
“During these speeches, the person speaking could hear themselves on a delay, which resulted in the speech givers becoming disoriented as to where they were in their speeches, causing them to misspeak their words in some cases.”
The graduation was held on the multi-purpose turf field using a new public announcement system, Swenson said.
“Bridgewater Television (BTV) who was monitoring the sound system that evening has confirmed that it is one of those problems that happens in real time and can affect your speech in a way that may resemble a person having a stroke,” Swenson said.
New Raynham restaurant: Seafood & Cones in Raynham has a menu loaded with summer favorites
The actual equipment did not malfunction but speakers could have been hearing a delay because of distance of the podium from the press box where the speakers were, Bridgewater Community Television station manager Jeff Fowler said.
“It does resemble someone who sounds like they are having a stroke or inebriated,” Fowler said.
School Committee member Kevin Moreira of Raynham told the Taunton Daily Gazette Wednesday, “It is unfortunate that many have painted a false narrative behind this situation in order to continue pushing information not based in facts but based in rumor, hearsay and misinterpreted video.”
“Speaking for myself, I spoke with Mr. Swenson and Ms. Holbrook prior to the ceremony, neither were showing any signs whatsoever of intoxication. This was echoed publicly on a social media thread today by Bridgewater Town Council member Shawn George.”
Raynham traffic hot spots: Here are the problem areas where Raynham police are directing traffic patrols
Swenson said such problems have occurred during other events in which speakers and public address announcers became disoriented after hearing their own voice on a delay, including University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman during halftime of the Michigan vs. Nebraska Football Game in 2013, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred at the 2020 World Series and a presenter at a recent Boston Bruins retirement ceremony that was broadcast on NESN.
Swenson said the problem affected some speakers — himself, Holbrook and the salutatorian — and not others.
“Unfortunately, this problem is one that occurs on a case-by-case basis and does not affect all speakers,” Swenson said. “We have reached out to our audio-visual team to identify ways in which we can resolve this issue going forward. At a minimum, we will ensure that all speakers are given the opportunity to rehearse their speeches beforehand."
“We regret any distortion or degradation to the audio clarity and quality while any of our speakers addressed the audience,” Swenson said.
The district will actively work to address this problem ahead of the upcoming 2022-23 school year, Swenson said.
Staff writer Donna Whitehead can be reached by email at dwhitehead@tauntongazette.com.
This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Bridgewater-Raynham graduation: Slurred speeches blamed on audio delay
