Providence Journal photo / Freida Squires
Bob Gillan of the Quincy Police Department and his dog Ronan were one of six K-9 units on campus for the UMass-Dartmouth graduation.
DARTMOUTH, Mass. -- There was a heavy security presence on the 710-acre campus of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Sunday as 1,369 undergraduates received degrees from the institution where one of the Boston bombing suspects was enrolled.Police from a half-dozen law enforcement agencies and bomb-sniffing dogs roamed the area on campus where an estimated 11,000 family members and friends gathered on Mother's Day to watch the graduates receive their degrees.
Because of the beefed up security and the threat of rain -- which forced the ceremony inside from an amphitheater to a huge tent that was large enough to accommodate 7,000 --the start of the graduation was pushed back an hour. Attendees were lined up for blocks as a private security firm checked everyone's handbags and totes as they entered the tent. Others watched from remote locations. .