<p>If by name dropping you mean talking about other students, I generally wouldn’t do it. It’s cool to tell stories that are common to the class. One of our 09 vals talked about S and M, two would-be grads who died in 8th grade, one from cancer and the other in an accident. But don’t name-drop the names of your friends or anything. As our assistant principal says at every graduation rehearsal, at commencement, the class graduates as a single unit. The slight allowance for individuality allotted to vals lets their personality shine through their speeches but nothing should be directly stated.</p>