<p>oh ***t!!! this thread just reminded me to order my son’s cap and gown!!!</p>
<p>Don’tPanic1 and Bedouin, it’s a good thing your children do not attend the Rhode Island School of Design. RISD is well-known for the creativity of its students, which is certainly on display at the commencement ceremony. Here is the official school policy regarding students’ attire:</p>
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[quote]
Do RISD students actually wear caps and gowns at Commencement?
Yes. And no. Students are issued inexpensive black caps and gowns several days in advance and encouraged to use their creative talents to make them their own. Some choose to wear the gowns and mortarboards as is, others opt for their own clothing, and still others go all out embellishing the standard-issue garb or by creating unusual costumes. The result: RISD’s ceremony is generally more festive, colorful, and informal than most.[unquote]</p>
<p>Each year Providence’s citizens turn out to watch the RISD students walk along the riverbank on their way to commencement. It’s a combination of Mardi Gras and Halloween and is quite an event. Here’s the local newpaper’s write-up about last year’s graduation:</p>
<p>[Rhode</a> Island School of Design graduates 655 in colorful ceremony | Rhode Island news | projo.com | The Providence Journal](<a href=“The Providence Journal: Local News, Politics & Sports in Providence, RI”>The Providence Journal: Local News, Politics & Sports in Providence, RI)</p>
<p>I agree with having a focus on “decorum” when you are celebrating academic achievements, but somehow, the RISD version of Commencement seems completely appropriate for a school where the curriculum focuses on art and design and “thinking outside the box”</p>
<p>Our high school has specific dress code instructions for both baccalaureate and graduation & they have/will pull people if they don’t follow the instructions. And this is a public high school: </p>
<p>Men: dress shoes or dress boots; no flip flops, sneakers or mocs. Dark colored dress pants; no jeans or shorts. Light colored dress shirts w/tie; no body piercing jewelry except ears.
Women: Dress shoes or sandals; no flip flops, sneakers or mocs. White or light dress, skirt or pants. No body piercing jewelry except ears.</p>
<p>Also, any student who writes or decorates their graduation cap isn’t allowed to participate in the ceremony.</p>
<p>They’ve never had an issue.</p>
<p>Booing is beyond the pale.</p>
<p>If there is any day when families can be forgiven a spontanious burst of applause and cheering, then surely it is graduation day. </p>
<p>The schools could allow thirty seconds between the names being read to allow for it or divide the graduations into smaller groups if that is not possible. </p>
<p>Nor do I enjoy being a scold for those students who want to add decoration to their formal outfit. Why in the world is that my business? It’s their special day, if I cannot stand to look at such things, I can avert my eyes, for goodness sake. </p>
<p>I simply do not understand going through life being bothered by joy. </p>
<p>YDS, I love it!!!</p>
<p>we’re all there for the same thing. cheering for your grad seems redundant and rude
special situations eg cancer survivor etc… may be an exception but everyone’s special on this day. I dont do it and i am the biggest bragger when it comes to my kids</p>
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<p>Except it did…it’s not like they were silently tossing a ball around. There was laughter and yelling (from both audience and students) and at some points you could barely hear the names being spoken, it was such a distraction from the ceremony. Yeah, it was all meant in lighthearted fun but I felt bad for the families of the PhD candidates that were there to watch their students walk up on stage and hear their names, and all the undergrads were throwing balls and being loud. I felt bad for the people trying to talk while the students were having fun and turning the attention away from the speakers.</p>
<p>But maybe that’s just me…I just felt like it would have been nice for them to actually pay attention when people’s names are being called and when they’re being told that they’re graduated and can move their tassels. But I was clearly in the minority there (or at least amongst where I was sitting) because everyone else thought it was just hilarious.</p>
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<p>Ours is very similar, but you are allowed to have piercings and girls are NOT allowed to wear pants. That’s the part I dislike. We have a few girls who are not comfortable wearing skirts/dresses who will be skipping graduation becuase they aren’t allowed to wear pants. To me, that is simply ridiculous(then again, my high school still passes out bibles at graduation-a public school no less)…</p>
<p>Honestly, it’s the grad’s day. let them wear what they are comfortable in and let them decorate their stuff(within reason)…if mom and dad want to yell, I say go for it…</p>
<p>It has gotten so bad in our school system that an announcements are sent home and then made again at the beginning of the ceremony that extreme noise makers will be removed by security officers from the arena . Still doesn’t help.</p>
<p>"when my name was called my friends unfurled a bedsheet from the balcony that read “We (heart) you, YDS!” It didn’t make noise at all. "</p>
<p>I think that was nice. </p>
<p>What I don’t think are nice are booing, yelling, clapping for individual students, and airhorns.</p>
<p>Wow Rocket! We live in the Bible Belt & I’ve never heard anything about bibles being passed out at graduation! (now, kids carrying them around in the hallways & reading passages on the bus to those whose souls they feel might be in jeopardy…that I’ve heard of ;)</p>
<p>yup RobD…we’re not even in the Bible belt, but they are passed out…You don’t have to take them, but most kids do</p>
<p>Airhorns, horrible. For my older son’s graduation we were unfortunately sitting in front of a gaggle of girls who seemed to know half the senior class and screamed for each one. It was painfully loud, and truly ruined the graduation for us. I have no objection to clapping and cheering within reason. Our senior class is huge though - they don’t wait for people to stop cheering, but the loudspeakers were reasonably effective.</p>
<p>I love the RISD outfits - I’ve often thought I should have gone there.</p>
<p>S1’s graduation was at a huge sports arena and the airhorns were everywhere. Because there was no limit on how many guests could be invited, some kids had entire cheering sections. Others went wild for their student and every one of that kid’s friends. (I felt sorry for the kids with noisy contingents. Some groups were truly cringe-worthy.) </p>
<p>We sat in front of one such group. My ears were ringing by the time it was over!</p>
<p>When I saw this title I had to click on it.</p>
<p>It definitely reminds me of my HS graduation. I went to a small all girl school (about 90 ppl in graduating class). When it came time for graduation our teacher and principal were very firm that NO ONE in the audience make a sound. They told us that if anyone did they, they would be escorted out of the ceremony!</p>
<p>Thankfully everyone was on there best behavior. I could tell a lot of girls were nervous about their families though. haha</p>
<p>I’ve found the louder the family carries on, the lower the class rank of the student being saluted. Perhaps they are truly amazed the student is actually graduating.</p>
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<p>I’m sure they will go far in life. </p>
<p>As to the whole decorum issue … while my family would never do a ‘shout out’ to my son, I really don’t mind hearing that from others and actually … sometimes it can be quite uplifting because it comes across as so … genuine. So, if true to who they are and to the way their family celebrates, I’m completely fine with it. Noisemakers like air horns … never heard of such a thing before coming to this thread. Not cool.</p>
<p>By and large the families who make the biggest ruckus at our high school graduations are cheering on a kid who is A) the first HS graduate in their family, or B) unlikely to graduate from any other school during the course of their life. So while the shout outs, air horns, etc. are obnoxious, I really can’t begrudge those families the opportunity to express their joy and pride at what may well be a once-in-a-lifetime event. As for those kids who do not fit A or B, they need to tell their entourage to curb their enthusiasm.</p>
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<p>You did it again, PMK, you wrote what I was thinking!</p>
<p>Somehow, I was able to attend both my D’s graduation ceremonies, observe the decorum requested by the schools AND still feel joyous. It can be done. In fact I have attended several joyous weddings and been able to abstain from screaming out the brides name or blasting an air horn when they kissed.</p>
<p>I am still amazed by people who insist on shouting, screaming, cheering, etc. after being told verbally and in writing that they should hold off until the end of the ceremony. Easy solution as far as I’m concerned - announce that anyone violating the rules will be escorted out. Then do it. I suspect that the next group who can’t exercise self-restraint might come up with some once they see that there are actual, not just threatened, consequences.It’s not just your child’s day people - think about the others whose names will be drowned out in your commotion.</p>