Carey Dillinger, January, 1996
The Daily Commercial
Those of you that read this column on a regular basis will probably remember that the June edition contained some rather uncomplimentary remarks concerning the behavior of both the graduates and the audience at the Leesburg High School commencement ceremony this past May. In that column I urged the students of the class of 1996, along with their parents, teachers, school administrators, and class sponsor to begin to make plans so that the next commencement ceremony would be the kind of occasion that would be remembered with pride and affection.
I am happy to report that such plans are already in the works. Principal Dave Tucker, along with class sponsor Pete Bush put out a call for anyone interested to attend the first meeting of the newly formed Graduation Committee during the early part of December. Present at this meeting were parents, teachers, and prospective graduates. Everyone in attendance at this first meeting came away from it feeling that much common ground had been established between the students and the adults, especially in the area of decorum.
Both students and adults alike felt that nothing should take place during the ceremony itself to remove the spotlight from the individual speaker, presenter, or graduate. Everyone agreed that when each graduate comes across that stage, all eyes and ears deserve to be focused on that individual in their moment of glory, happiness, and honor. While the adults seemed to favor a more reserved approach to the entire event, the students were concerned that without some overt show of class solidarity, the graduation ceremony of the class of 1996 might not be fondly remembered by either the honorees nor the attendees. The meeting adjourned with a feeling of accomplishment and agreement to meet again during the month of January.
The Second meeting was even more productive than the first, as the committee welcomed some new members including: two additional parents, two more faculty members, the senior class officers, the student body president, and the rarest of all species, a concerned male student. After some lively round table discussion it was decided to divide the committee into four smaller groups to study various aspects of how to make the graduation of the class of 1996 the best ceremony that has ever been witnessed at the H. O. Dabney Stadium. The four smaller subcommittees began to study particular aspects of the graduation event such as: publicity, seating, security, dress, decorum, decorations, and the printed program.
Each subcommittee was asked to make a list of what they would like to see happen at the ceremony, as well as what they did not want to see occur. First, let's examine some of the things that the committee wants to avoid at this year's commencement ceremony. The subcommittee on seating and security would like to see excessive crowd noise and crowded seating eliminated. The subcommittee on dress and decorum put on their "no-no" list such things as: casually attired audience members, a "football game atmosphere," mechanical noisemakers, and excessive cheering to the point of drowning out the speaker system. The program subcommittee submitted that a "party atmosphere" on the part of the graduates or the audience during the dignified sections of the ceremony would be inappropriate.
Many positive ideas were presented by each of the subcommittees to alleviate potential problems and insure a successful ceremony. These included: seating in the "home stands" by ticket only and open seating in the visitors stands, to help with seating and security problems. Also it was recommended that the podium and graduate seating on the football field could be rearranged so that everyone could see the speaker's stand and the graduates. To help with audience decorum, someone would be chosen to precede the graduates to the stadium to explain the program to the audience and suggest appropriate responses from them. One subcommittee suggested that publicity through the local newspapers, the school newspaper, the school public address announcements, and a special senior class meeting would help the committee's effort to get everyone in the community to feel like they had a part in designing the ceremony as well as be willing to participate within its guidelines.
Perhaps the most interesting proposal came from the program subcommittee. They want the class to design what they are calling the "class signature." This signature would consist of some activity or action on the part of the graduates at the conclusion of the ceremony that would place a positive stamp of the class of 1996 on the occasion as well as meet with the approval of all present. Besides making the observance the unique possession of the class, the signature would culminate the ceremony and signal the audience to "storm the field."
The purpose of this column is threefold: first, to once again demonstrate that good things are happening in the local schools and students, parents, and school personnel can and will work together for a good cause; second, to put the graduation ceremony in the minds of those of you that read this paper and are planning to attend; and third, to solicit suggestions from the community at large, as well as to encourage more interested parents and LHS seniors of the male persuasion to attend the next committee meeting. If you do have a suggestion that you feel would enhance the upcoming graduation ceremony please write to student co-chairman Erin Ohnstad or me in care of Leesburg High School.
I know you're probably wondering how I became privy to the information contained herein. It was simple really, I promised the adult co-chairman of the committee that the newspaper would publish his photograph in the upper left hand corner of this column.
[The author's photograph appeared with each column, he was the adult co-chairman of the graduation committee.]
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