Regina Public Schools announced on October 6 that they were dispensing with graduation banquets and dances, and only keeping cap-and-gown ceremonies.
Those principals better watch out for pitchforks and torches. They are messing with something a lot more fundamental to Canadian society than whether or not someone wears a niqab to a citizenship ceremony.
The superintendent of student achievement for Regina Public Schools, Rick Steciuk, noted that the cost of the grad tickets would probably be between $50 and $60 each, and many families couldn鈥檛 afford them. Also, not everyone could attend due to limited seating being available. Oh, and there鈥檚 some concern about liability, according to a letter from the principal of Winston Knoll Collegiate.
So instead of addressing these issues, they鈥檙e throwing the baby out with the bathwater, and no one will be able to attend, since there will be no banquet.
It鈥檚 not like grad is an unscheduled thing. Families have 12 years to prepare and budget for them. So now they鈥檙e talking about some other unspecified event where grads could still wear a gown or tux. As one radio callin caller pointed out, if schools are so concerned about this, how about annual school fees?
This is complete and utter hogwash.
High school graduation across Canada is probably the one true and singular coming-of-age ritual we have common to all Canadians. Not everyone goes to university. And if they do, not all pass (got the T-shirt on that one.) Some may not get married, and many don鈥檛 get married until they鈥檙e 30. That means in our culture, between graduating Kindergarten, a cutesy affair, and a maybe wedding at age 31, high school graduation is the only sure thing. Not everyone graduates, but everyone has the opportunity to. 听
In some towns, parents work on the grad committee while their kids are in Grade 11 鈥� in preparation for 鈥渢he big year next year.鈥�
While this so-far unspecified event has not been detailed, getting rid of the banquet and dance pretty much gets rid of the need for a fancy dress and tux.
Ever eat at one of these new trendy restaurants springing up all around Saskatchewan? Dropping 50 bucks on one big event is really not that big of a deal. Yes, it is harder on those with less financial means, but this is a one-time thing in a person鈥檚 life. Surely somewhere along the way, some money can be squirreled away.
Grad is so much more than just the banquet. I鈥檓 a professional photographer and I do a handful of grads each year. For many photographers, it is a huge part of their business. Then there鈥檚 the dress shops, tux shops, limos, hairdressers, caterers, halls, 铿俹rists鈥� the list goes on and on. I won鈥檛 say it鈥檚 big business, but it鈥檚 significant business, especially to the vendors. I鈥檝e personally attended several workshops on what American photographers call 鈥渟enior portraits.鈥�
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It鈥檚 also incredibly important to the families. I鈥檝e had families book my grad photo service two years in advance.
If you have no event, then the reason to get all dressed up (and take pictures) dramatically diminishes. A cap-and-gown uniform is just that. Many kods wear shorts and flipflops under them. In my experience, to most graduates the cap-and-gown ceremony is almost an afterthought. It鈥檚 the event that evening that matters.
This money is spent because graduation is a signi铿乧ant milestone. We celebrate it with food and dance because that is how our society celebrates and, I would wager, most societies do the same. It鈥檚 not just the completion of secondary education. It鈥檚 the transition to becoming men and women. Time to leave the nest. Move out. Go to university. Join the army. Get a job. Pay your own way. Fly, birdie, fly.
Completing high school is so signi铿乧ant, reunions are held 10 and 20 years later (and sometimes more).
I suspect the backlash on this horrible decision is going to be so fast and furious that Regina Public Schools will have reversed its decision before this column is printed. And if not, those who enacted it had better run for cover. Hell hath no fury like a grad committee scorned, and they鈥檝e just kyboshed every public grad committee in the city.
Niqabs? Ha! Messing with grad will make the niqab debate seem quaint.
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