Do you have to go to the graduation?

Student Lounge College Life
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<p>The actual completion of your credits is cause enough for celebration. You don’t need the graduation ceremony to be proud of how far you’ve come in the last four years, though it is nice to have that option. </p>

<p>I think a lot of people think of it as a given because it is tradition and that is why it seems absurd that someone wouldn’t want to go. However, you probably don’t have to attend at most schools to receive your diploma being that you’ve already earned it. Though, if you do choose to go, I don’t see why you wouldn’t wear the cap and gown. </p>

<p>It’s weird that people get so defensive and just plain rude about something as seemingly harmless as this question or idea. Everyone has their opinion and it’s fine if you want to voice it, but realize that everyone else does not have to hold the same belief you do. And 9/10 you’re not going to change anyone’s mind. Just say your piece and keep it moving.</p>

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<p>^
Insults towards people who don’t believe as you do are totally uncalled for. Obviously, even though Kender posted several long-ish posts reiterating the same point, you still didn’t get the point trying to be made. Which was that different people may choose to celebrate their graduations differently. Just because some celebrate separately from the school ceremony (with or without their family) or not at all, doesn’t make them bad people. Though you not going to <em>your</em> graduation may hold certain negative connotations, it doesn’t have to mean the same for everyone else. </p>

<p>Your view is hardly ever going to be the only one. It would do you [and others’ perceptions of you] good if you can realize that.</p>

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<p>The points you are overlooking:</p>

<p>Point One: The only one who can impose a should onto anyone is one onto oneself. The only entity that can impose a requirement for graduation onto anyone is the school itself.</p>

<p>Sub-point One: Stick to facts and leave emotional sentimentality out of things. What is important to you may or may not be important to others.</p>

<p>Point Two: Posting insulting comments that attack another user is against forum rules.</p>

<p>Point Three (new): No one is telling you want to do. You are being told what the rules are (Point Two) and that you are out of line telling others what they should do (Point One). You are being told what you cannot do because of rules you agreed to and because you are not privy to the lives of others nor what is important to them and their families.</p>

<p>Sadly, I have repeated the same points over and over again because, as essceejay216 has pointed out, it has not been understood and it seems a new person pops up every now and then who insists that their view is the only correct one how others should act. This is occasionally accompanied by rule breaking attacks. Hopefully the lined out points above will makes things easier for you to understand.</p>

<p>By the way, belief extends beyond a religious connotation and the use of this as a debate point simply shows that you are grasping at straws to try and find something to support why you feel you are allowed to, as you say, “not care,” yet apparently care enough to tell others what they should do.</p>

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Source: [Belief</a> - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary](<a href=“http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/belief]Belief”>Belief Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster)</p>

<p>essceejay216 is right. My posts are rather long-winded and have often repeated the same point continuously even though in different words. I had honestly hoped you would show maturity and take my questions seriously and take the time to answer them. Your absolute denial of your position and what you are truly saying is quite saddening.</p>

<p>I have clearly lined out my points to you specifically so I will no longer respond to your posts directly. I do hope you eventually approach this conversation with an open mind and understand the real issues at hand rather than feeling the need to so vehemently defend your belief that one “should go to their graduation ceremony.” I am certainly not attacking you nor anyone for wanting to go. There is no need to be so defensive about an issue that is not about you personally.</p>

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<p>Socially inept means looking at life through a child’s eyes: everything is black or white. You’re going to have to expand your thinking into realizing that you cannot make decisions for other people, especially when you do not have all the facts.</p>

<p>Grow up.</p>

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<p>The way HS and college has been was always something of a blur to me. I never much got along with the other students my own age; I don’t have “friends” of whom I can speak of, and my family sucks so I don’t want to go “for them.” Also, basically everything I’ve learned is only good for more studying, and now I’m worn out and need a break and might not even go for my 4-year degree. I’ll go to the ceremony anyway, though, because my cap and gown are already paid for and I don’t have anything else to do on that day. Somehow I think that quiz-show principal from Billy Madison should be the honorary guest speaker on stage, to say something like…</p>

<p>“Nothing you’ve learned or attempted thus far in your pointless, pseudo-important study of world literature and abstract philosophy has come remotely close to a fragment of a rational occupational skill. Everyone in this graduating class of 2011 is now dumber for having studied with you. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.”</p>

<p>Class dismissed! ;)</p>

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<p>Some of us are satisfied with our accomplishments and education, we don’t need to wear gowns and receive a piece of paper from someone we never met. I rather get it from my professors than them really</p>

67

<p>Due to the USA’s lack of Europe-style vacation laws in the world of work, graduating college and high school is actually very much like committing felonies and/or misdemeanors and a resulting jail or death penalty sentence. This is because when you’re in school, you’re safeguarded against all bad things happening around the world, and your vacations are protected. You get ample vacation time. But once you graduate, you are stripped of your right to ample annual vacation time. All sorts of bad things start happening to you. No-one cares about you, or your family, your health, etc, and employers will readily and willfully destroy your life! Employers intentionally expose you to all sorts of workplace hazards, intentionally deteriorate your health and welfare in that way and by drastically restricting and limiting vacations, force you against your will to perform unhealthy work habits, subject you against your will to workplace bullying- whether it is your manager who is the bully or your coworkers bully you-, and will willfully murder you or slaughter you. Employers take great pleasure in denying or outright prohibiting vacations, take advantage of their employees, rape you, and tyrannically run your life, control how you live your life, and are handed the remote control to your life. And if an individual defies them or does not live the way the employer wants them to, the employer can instantly deteriorate or destroy your life with one push of the “deteriorate life into poverty and homelessness” button and strip you of your residence, vacations, welfare, blah blah blah. The world of work is exactly like jail.</p>

<p>In prison, you are not given any choices over anything at all, and your life and whatever you do is someone else’s decision- it’s a LIVING HELL!! In jail, you are NEVER given ANY SORT OF VACATIONS AT ALL. In jail, YOU ARE NOT FREE TO TAKE YOUR VACATIONS AND TRAVEL THE WORLD. NO BENEFITS IN PRISON WHATSOEVER. Work is exactly the same in those ways, especially here in the US.</p>

<p>What the majority of the population fails to realize is that graduating high school and college is actually parallel to the legal system. When students go to college or high school and study, by putting effort into their studies, they are committing felonies known as academic achievement. Final grades are when the police arrest the suspects. </p>

<p>The graduation ceremonies are the criminal trials- where the defendants appear in court and stand trial- the prosecuting attorneys and the defense attorneys clash and present evidence of the crime of academic achievement, the jury goes to the back to determine the verdict, and, more often than not, the prosecution wins. At graduation ceremonies, the judge sentences the graduates to as little as a few hours in prison or as much as life. Or sometimes capital punishment is the sentence, and the defendant graduates are sentenced to live especially miserable lives! Whatever the next phase of life after graduation is, it is a prison sentence. Depending on what kind of work or occupation you do in the next chapter of your life, it can be a minimum jail sentence or a life imprisonment sentence, and in extreme cases, the death penalty. In the US, graduating into prison for a day or for life is inevitable. When you go to college, and graduate, you will go to jail against your will no matter what.</p>

<p>For all the above reasons, I skipped my high school graduation AND DID NOT CELEBRATE AT ALL. Celebrating graduation is like celebrating that you are going to jail or be executed on death row. SERIOUSLY WHY THE HELL CELEBRATE THAT YOU WILL NO LONGER HAVE SUMMERS OFF AND PLENTY OF VACATIONS!!!</p>

<p>YOU ARE THROWING YOUR GOOD LIVES AWAY AND HURTING YOUSELVES!!! I’LL BAN GRADUATION CEREMONIES PERMANENTLY AND DESTROY COMMENCEMENTS NATIONWIDE IF GRADUATION PRESENTS A DANGER TO INNOCENT YOUNG PEOPLE!!!</p>

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<p>Graduation is very similar to the legal system- going to jail and throwing away your good vacations and wuality of life. SO SERIOUSLY WHY CELEBRATE THROWING YOUR VACATIONS AWAY AND YOUR LIFE’S FATE!!!</p>

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<p>I moved 6 hours out of town before graduation myself, so that’s why I didn’t/am not. </p>

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<p>At my school, graduation and commencement are two separate processes. A student must file for graduation, but commencement is entirely optional. In fact, at my school, you don’t even need to have a diploma to walk–as long as you have the required units required you can “walk” (this allows students who won’t finish their degree until the end of summer or fall quarter to walk during spring commencement if they’d rather not wait another whole year).</p>

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<p>UKclassof13 wrote: “Seriously unless your entire extended family is dead then why miss it? It is one of the proudest moments in your parents lives and the chance to say goodbye to a lot of friends you have made during the college years. Unless you have something REALLY important going on that day then you really shouldn’t skip out on graduation”</p>

<p>UKclassof13:
HOW DARE YOU BULLY PEOPLE LIKE US INTO PARTICIPATING IN GRADUATION CEREMONIES!!! Don’t you realize that commencement ceremonies are ceremonies that celebrate that you will NEVER EVER travel the world and/or take vacations again in your life!!!</p>

<p>WHY DO YOU HARASS PEOPLE INTO ATTENDING THEIR CAP-AND-GOWN EVENTS!!??!!! WHAT BUSINESS IS IT OF YOURS TO BULLY PEOPLE INTO GOING???!!! And HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE’S PARENTS WILL BE PROUD IF YOU DO NOT KNOW THEM PERSONALLY!!??</p>

<p>You’ve GOT to understand that completing the last credits to graduate is equivalent to committing a crime, the police arresting you, taking you into custody, the graduation ceremony is the criminal trial proceedings in a court of law, where you appear in court and are on trial for your life, and whatever comes next- most likely the world of work- is going to prison ranging from as little as a week or so to as much as life!
GET THIS THROUGH YOUR HEAD!!!</p>

<p>PRiNCESSMAHiNA wrote: “This is incredibly stupid. Only an idiot doesn’t want to walk at their colleges graduation. It’s your last hurrah as a college student, why not do it? It’s kind of a huge deal.”</p>

<p>YOU BETTER UNDERGO PSYCHOSURGERY, PRiNCESSMAHiNA. GRADUATION IS ACTUALLY A CURSE- NOT AN ACHIEVEMENT! Because after work comes a miserable life of 7-to-3 or 9-to-5 jobs with hardly any vacation time in the year!</p>

<p>IF I HEAR YOU HARASS OR BULLY OTHER PEOPLE INTO WALKING AGAIN, I WILL PULL THE FIRE ALARM ON YOUR GRADUATION CEREMONY AND YOU’LL BE SORRY!!!</p>

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<p>Whoa! I never would have thought this topic could be such a heated debate!</p>

<p>I’m not going to any ceremonies. I don’t see the point. When I graduate I’ll take pride in actually graduating. I don’t need to show off my achievement in front of a stadium full of strangers. That would probably just make me have a panic attack anyways…</p>

<p>I actually wont have any type of celebration, and I’m fine with that. I’m paying for my school and my parents aren’t supportive. They’re actually anti-school. They want me to quit and go back to work. Most of my extended family is anti-school too. There’s a couple who are supportive of me and think it’s a good idea, but I don’t think a ceremony would be important to them either. Plus they would have to fly across the country to come. They probably wouldn’t even care about ceremonies if it were their own kids in college. I don’t think any of my cousins went to their high school graduation ceremony. I guess it’s just not a big thing in my family and it’s not something we give any thought to.</p>

<p>I didn’t go to my high school ceremony either, and it didn’t effect me. I was able to get a sucky labor intense minimum wage job just like any other ceremony attending high school graduate would be able to get. lol.</p>

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<p>I won’t be taking part in any commencement ceremony either, not because I’m against it or anything like that…but I really don’t see the point in personally taking part in one. Plus I’ll be a little bit older than your typical college graduate, so yeah awkwardness aside I don’t feel like paying for one of these gowns. </p>

<p>I just want that little piece of paper that shows I finished my undergrad education so I can finally upload it onto USAJobs to hopefully start on a lifelong career. </p>

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<p>Consider this: Have your parent supported you emotionally and financially through college? If so, consider going for them. Oh, I have paid >$100,000 for your college and you can’t even let me see you graduate?
I was glad to have the opportunity to celebrate my daughter graduating.</p>

<p>Now if this is not the case, then do what feels right for you.</p>

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I think thou dost protest too much, as they say.</p>

<p>I think this is a touchy topic, because people don’t like being called out for being selfish. This is pretty simple: if your parents have been supportive, and really want to see you graduate, either from high school or college, it’s a nice thing to walk for them, even if you don’t really feel like it. You might have some good reason not to do so, but every year there are a bunch of lame excuses that simply cover up for petulant, selfish preferences. If that doesn’t apply to you, you don’t need to get mad. If you’re going to be deployed to Iraq the week of commencement, or if you’re going to be in the hospital, or if your parents are dead or hate you, etc., etc., etc., you get a pass, at least from me. But if your parents supported you (and especially if they paid for your education), and they want to come, I’m not going to give you a pass if you “just don’t like ceremonies” or “don’t see the point” or think it is “boring.” That’s baby thinking, and this is a time for mature thinking.</p>

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<p>Do you get a diploma when you finish your 2 year AA degree, if your going for a 4 year degree too? I figured mine would be sent in the mail, but it’s been over a month. </p>

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<p>FYI, I’m 51. I got my BS in 1984. I went to my college’s ceremony (but not to the university-wide one), but I have exactly 0 memory of it. I’m sure my mom, who’s 85, doesn’t remember it either. And my dad is dead. </p>

<p>I surely do remember the all-night party with skinny-dipping in the lake, though!! And when my dad arrived at my co-op from 600 miles away, and asked “where’s the beer?” (a bit out of character for him and the first time I felt like he was treating me as an equal, not his kid).</p>

<p>I graduated from law school in 1992. I wouldn’t have missed walking in that cool hat for anything! Wish dad had been alive for that one too.</p>

<p>Do what you want.</p>

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I am 4 years too late but hope that you have gone for your graduation! I just went for mine last month and it was very memorable, got to walk up the stage, listened to inspirational stories, took pictures with family and friends, last but not the least YOUR FAMILY WILL BE SO PROUD OF YOU. Be proud of your achievements for all these years. I also got interviewed by the school after graduation and my face is on the school social media websites. So hope that anyone is considering going, do go because it will most likely end up well. Better than you never go and wonder what happens…

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It’s gonna be your last day in school as a student. so do consider going

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You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I know I’m not participating in commencement and am having my diploma mailed to me instead. Sorry, but I hated sitting still for 4 hours in the hot, blazing, 100+ degree Southern California sun while sweating severely underneath my graduation gown and cap at my high school graduation and I do not want to have to go through that again. And no, my mother (father deceased when I was in middle school) did not contribute to my education–all my fees were paid for via financial aid, so don’t give me that “your parents paid a lot of money for your education” excuse.