GALESBURG, Ill. - Caisha Gayles graduated with honors last month, but she is still waiting for her diploma. The reason: the whoops of joy from the audience as she crossed the stage.

 

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

 

About a month before the May 27 ceremony, Galesburg High students and their parents had to sign a contract promising to act in dignified way. Violators were warned they could be denied their diplomas and barred from the after-graduation party.

 

Many schools across the country ask spectators to hold applause and cheers until the end of graduation. But few of them enforce the policy with what some in Galesburg say are strong-arm tactics.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070602/ap_on_re_us/graduation_decorum;_ylt=AoMXeIJ5lnB_zQpMDEEE7ivMWM0F

Thats no fair.

At our graduation, the administration tried to be strict against cheering, but most of the time it kinda still happened anyway.

Wow. That makes me sick.

That may be one of the stupidest things I've read in a long time. Heaven forbid anyone show any emotion, or worse yet, someone be offended that someone else's child get more cheers than their own. It never ceases to amaze me at some of the bone-headed decisions school administrations make across the country on a regular basis.

I understand what they're after. The 2006 graduation at Holmes was awful because of the audience. However, to withhold diplomas is just wrong.

I don't know if they needed to lose their diplomas, but if the cheers were drowning out other kids names being read then something needed to be done. Its a shame that these parents don't have enough respect for the others around them to just wait until the end to cheer for thier child. I would bet that if someone had cheered loud enough so that thier child's name wasn't heard, they would want something done about it.

Are they not giving them a diploma?!?!?!?! That wasn't the KID'S fault that his parents are buttholes. If the kids don't get the diploma the school is basically saying that their 4-years of high school was wasted!

I think the reason for the no cheering policy is to shorten the duration of some of these very lengthy ceremonies. It is very common now to ask the audience to withhold their applause until all graduates have been recognized. I support the policy for this reason, but withholding a diploma from a high school kid that is not responsible for the actions of the folks cheering is as stupid of an action that a school could take.

We had the same problem. The principle asked before he started to wait and then give a big ovation. People ignored him and kids name were not heard. He stopped several times and look in the direction of the yells, but they didn't care. The kids were embrassed, but they got their diploma. My kids name was almost not heard.

I read this article a couple of days ago and we just had our graduation ceremony today. Our principal asked for everyone to hold their applause and "expressions of exuberance" until the end. Eight kids in and we had air horns going, which hurt me where I was sitting with the rest of the faculty behind the graduates. We had stupid things yelled, including profanity mixed in with the phrase "It's about time!" There were times when the cheers ran into another kid's name. Whoever said that one of these yahoo parents would have been mad if their kids name was covered by someone yelling and screaming is exactly right.

 

With that being said, I don't necessarily think that it is fair for their diplomas to be held. Evenso, they did graduate and the copy of paper in the little folder that they are given is just for show. Any official copy of their transcript will have to legally show that the student graduated.

I don't know if they needed to lose their diplomas, but if the cheers were drowning out other kids names being read then something needed to be done. Its a shame that these parents don't have enough respect for the others around them to just wait until the end to cheer for thier child. I would bet that if someone had cheered loud enough so that thier child's name wasn't heard, they would want something done about it.

Well to keep the diplomas away from the kids is a might harsh but perhaps this will the attention of all the rude people who attend graduations. My nephew graduated recently and it was a horrible situation for my mother, his grandmother. My mom is in a wheelchair and they seated her at the bottom of the stands and not too far from the stage. People were not suppose to have been standing in that area but it didn't seem to stop anyone. My mother couldn't see her grandson walk across the stage because of the people standing in front of her. The worse part for her was that a woman was standing in front of her trying to get a picture of her daughter, who was about 6 kids behind my nephew, and she used my mother's lap as the keeper of her purse. Yes, she dropped her purse in my mother's lap while she was taking pictures. Trust me, the purse didn't stay there too long.

That wasn't the KID'S fault

Exactly! I also smell lawsuits coming, not fair to punish these people, they didn't do anything wrong. Don't think it's fair to tell the families to stay quiet, maybe tell them to keep it down but not to cheer at all is over the line. It's a celebration, not a funeral.

 

If they are too loud and obnoxious, or bringing airhorns in as someone stated happen at theirs, then remove those people, if they refuse to leave it's criminal trespassing, get them for that.

But what about the kids names that are not heard because of the rude idiots? Do you stop an already long ceremony every time someone in the audience gets loud? Every graduate (and their family) deserves to hear his/her name. No doubt this is 100% harsh, but word will get out and I bet it doesn't happen again.

 

FWIW as I understand all of the graduates were warned that this could happen.

 

AS for lawsuits, the ACLU says no one had their rights violated do there you go.

 

No one is saying that these kids didn't graduate.

In the article I read it indicated that there were complaints from the previous year because some parents never heard their child's name read because of the whoops of joy from a group of parents reacting to their child's name being read.

 

So while you blast the administration for the PARENT'S CHOOSING to violate the contract that they voluntarily signed, remember it was put in place to protect others parents in HEARING their child's name read.