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Archive for the 'Higher Education' Category

Jun 06 2007

5 high school students denied diplomas for applause?

When I heard a blip about this on the news this morning, while driving to work, my jaw dropped! I cannot believe that Galesburg High School in Illinois has taken this extreme measure.

five students denied diplomas from the lone public high school in Galesburg after enthusiastic friends or family members cheered for them during commencement.

Full news article link:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,277118,00.html

Given that I have 20 years working in higher education, and have been intimately involved in diploma awarding ceremonies, let me offer Galesburg High School administrators some advice:

If you don’t want cheers for students, then don’t hold a graduation ceremony. Alternatively, have a graduation ceremony, but don’t read individual names. Those are your only two options, if you want to mandate something as ridiculous as restricting enthusiastic friends and family members from applauding.

This is a quote in from the president of the Indianapolis school board, Clarke Cambell, when referring to the graduation ceremony

“It’s an important, solemn occasion. There’s plenty of time for celebration before and after,” said Clarke Campbell, president of the Indianapolis school board.

I’ve attended and worked at many graduation and commencement ceremonies, solemn they are not! Unless, of course, it is a really rainy day, but even that usually cannot squash the celebratory nature of the occasion. IT IS A CELEBRATION! It is the end of an era and a beginning of a new life!

I would like to meet the school employee who agreed to gauge the the applause level and note the names of the students who received too much recognition from ceremony attendees, so I can personally tell them to “GET A LIFE!”.

I say that all family and friends should whoop and holler as loud and as long as they like at ceremonies such as this. And if the audience is complaining that they cannot hear the names being read, well then turn up the microphone and pick a name reader who has a loud enough voice that will be heard.

It is my hope, that amongst these five students that were denied their diplomas, that at least one goes on to be rich and famous, and in turn will not give one red cent to Galesburg High School.