Don’t punish students over cheering

What horror I felt in reading the June 7 article titled “Schaumburg district clamps down on graduation cheering.” Excited to be reaching a major milestone in life, four students graduating from Jane Addams Junior High each walked up to the platform as his or her name was announced, but then were not handed a diploma — all because someone else cheered. Humiliated and dejected in front of hundreds, each of these students had to sit back down. And what did these four students do wrong?

In a court of law in our land of freedom, every person is responsible for his or her own actions. Since when do we punish a child because a relative or friend broke the rules? That is absurd. The goal of having a dignified graduation ceremony is admirable; turning a ceremony into a control war with children getting caught in the crossfire is intolerable.

This year it may have been family and friends cheering the graduate. However, if a precedent has been set that a graduate will be punished for others’ actions, then this could provide the perfect platform for bullying. Humiliation could be inflicted upon a targeted student just by cheering for them! How can the administration correctly identify the source of the cheering?

Having celebrated 12 graduations thus far for my own seven children, my advice is: have a heart. Graduations come and go, but each child only graduates from junior high once. This is such a vulnerable age. In place of emotional scars, why not leave our graduates with pleasant memories? Controlling a crowd is nearly impossible. Controlling our own attitudes over the innocent cheers at a graduation ceremony is much easier. And besides, what’s wrong with families and friends supporting and being excited for their graduate?

Anne Finegan

Palatine