GRADUATION EDIQUETTE

1. NO CELL PHONE USE DURING THE GRADUATION

a) No Calls Please!

b) No Texting Please!

c) TURN THE CELL PHONE OFF. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

d) No Talking to Your Neighbor Once You Are Seated On Stage!

2. NO SLEEPING DURING THE PROGRAM

a) Pease Be Alert and Pay Attention Through-Out the Entirety of the Program - Speeches and Presentations.

b) We want our Graduates to Feel Special, and the Audience to SEE That You Believe Them To Be Special, and the Graduation Ceremony as well.

3. REMINDER! IF YOUR NAME DOES NOT APPEAR ON THE GRADUATION PROGRAM, DO NOT APPROACH THE PODIUM/MICORPHONE - AT ANY TIME!!!

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!

This was on the faculty seats on the stage along with our commencement programs, for us to peruse for our edification after we processed in.

We are not in the Ivy League, here. The sound system didn't work, and the keynote speaker was pretty tiresome, a fledgling local politician who was not only boring, which is par for the course, but embarrassingly off-topic. She grabbed us as captive audience for her campaign speech, only acknowledging our new AA graduates for a moment at the end, to encourage them to be inspired by her example. At least so I gathered, through the deficiencies of the sound system.

But the musical numbers were great, in spite of the sound system. We don't worry much about test scores around here, but we have got rhythm.

And our valedictorian was splendid, as is often the case. This year, a middle-aged Filipina with an articulate and radical economic agenda to save public education, which had a mostly black and brown crowd of 1500 standing and cheering. Somebody out there ought to be listening.