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Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Graduation Decorum #rockhill #rockhillschools

How one should behave at graduation is debated all over the country. The Rock Hill Schools had that debate 16 years ago. After two graduations with air horns and rowdy behavior (from the audience), the Rock Hill Schools established what acceptable behavior was to be at graduations. Students are reminded before graduation, the information is printed on tickets, and an announcement is read at the ceremony that violators will be removed. This is the essence of the message: "The cooperation of the graduates and their guests in the following is greatly appreciated: No spectators are allowed on the coliseum floor at any time during the ceremony. Applause for the graduates should be held until all of the graduates' names have been read. The use of air horns, cowbells, noisemakers, etc. during the ceremony is prohibited. The audience should remain standing in place until platform guests and graduates have moved out of the coliseum." Uniformed police are used to enforce the procedures.

We've had 15 graduations since our debate. It is hard to describe the atmosphere when everyone erupts at the end of the ceremony - as if a national championship has been won. I suspect for a lot of those graduates, the atmosphere fits.

Below is a video of the celebrations from our high schools this year:


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