Campus says it was not involved in warrants for graduation celebrants

[Tommy_Carcetti]

Source: USA Today

Officials at a Mississippi college that hosted a high school graduation during which cheering celebrants were asked to leave are saying their school had no involvement in the May 21 incident that has grabbed nationwide attention.

The campus of Northwest Mississippi Community College in the Memphis metropolitan area played host to the Senatobia High School graduation in which four audience members who cheered for graduates were put out of the ceremonies. Warrants have been issued for the arrests of three of the four, according to the Clarion-Ledger, and at least two of those escorted out were black, prompting buzz on social media as to whether race was a factor. The charge is disturbing the peace.

****

Jay Foster, superintendent of the Senatobia Municipal School District, approached campus police to complete an affidavit for disturbing the peace, according to the statement. He then took that affidavit to Tate County, Miss., Justice Court, in Senatobia, where he filed it and warrants were issued, the statement read.

"Northwest Campus Police had no involvement in issuing or serving these warrants," the statement read.


Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/06/05/senatobia-high-school-graduation/28520249/

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Time for Jay Foster to go.

Feel free to sign the petition, if you haven't already done so:

https://www.change.org/p/senatobia-public-school-district-demand-the-immediate-resignation-or-termination-of-senatobia-ms-public-school-district-superintendent-jay-foster

[JackInGreen]

1. signed

kicked, and rec'd.

[HassleCat]

2. Who is the judge?

What judge would issue warrants for cheering. I'm assuming the "criminals" left the hall when asked to go, or they would be charged with trespassing. The law in some states says you're not guilty of disturbing the peace if you comply with a request to quiet down, break it up, leave, etc.

[GGJohn]

3. If I were the judge, I would have looked at Jay Foster and said,

"Are you fucking stupid or what", and then refused to sign the warrants.

[exboyfil]

4. Obviously this was the wrong approach for detering cheering at a graduation ceremony

but how can you stop it? It is incredibly rude to cheer for a graduate. For many students graduating high school the only time they are recognized is when their name is called during graduation. To take that away with ridiculous behavior like this is infuriating. Also antics like doing a flip after receiving a diploma have no business at graduation.

[GGJohn]

5. Huh? How is it rude to cheer for your child graduating from High School?

Every graduation we went to when our kids graduated, everyone was cheering their kids, no one took umbrage at it.
This Jay Foster is a dick in the nth degree and I hope the DA looks at the cases and says, Uh, no.

[exboyfil]

7. It drowns out the next name that is called

At least that is what happened at some of the graduation ceremonies that I attended. You could delay reading each name but if you have 500 graduates you are going to be sitting for a very long time.

[GGJohn]

11. Simple solution, turn up the amplifiers.

I don't remember having any problems hearing the next name being called, and the cheering only lasts a few seconds anyways.
Also, parents can see who's next in line to accept their diploma.

[MH1]

14. What about the kid who has no one to cheer for her?

Maybe daddy is in jail and mom has to work. Who knows.

Even without the extreme case, it can become a competition where those who get fewer cheers can feel belittled.

It's common courtesy that when they say please hold your cheers til the end and cheer for ALL the graduates, that the audience complies.

That said, being escorted out should have been enough, and even that shouldn't have happened for a minor offense, but only if people continued it and really created a disturbance.
And no way should charges be filed unless there was something much more significant that also happened.

And the person reading the names should be able to handle the occasional minor outburst. Come on people.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

17. That's a sad situation but you can't hold that against the people who do have family there.

I don't have a particularly large family, so during my graduation my cheers weren't as loud as for graduates who had large families.

Whatever, it didn't phase me. I was glad for my family who did show up, and I didn't hold anything against anyone who got more cheers than I did.

[MH1]

18. True, but I think it's a big part of the rationale for the policy.

The main thing is that it was requested of the audience to hold their cheers until the end, and some people just couldn't handle that small request.

I think the reaction is draconian and ridiculous, but I still say it was discourteous of the people who cheered before the end.

[marshall]

36. It's the same as excessive celebration in football

it disrupts the natural flow of a public event, and is unfair to others.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

6. Wait, what?

It's incredibly rude for people to cheer for a graduate?

From the video that I saw, all one of the parents did was shout out "You did it!" to their daughter. How exactly is that rude?

Here's how you fix the problem:

"Mary Adams....(One Mississippi, Two Mississippi, Three Mississippi, Four Mississippi, Five Mississippi)....Joe Brown....(One Mississippi, Two Mississippi.........)"

[exboyfil]

8. I did not watch the particular video

I was talking about cheering in general. Sometimes it goes on for a very long time.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

9. Still, it's a high school graduation, not a funeral.

Yeah, people should not over-exuberate to the point where it lasts more than 5 seconds, but there's nothing wrong with cheering a graduate in general.

And honestly, I've been to multiple graduations in my life and I can't recall any memorable instance where cheering lasted more than a few seconds anyways.

[jwirr]

10. In our area we call cheering parental support.

[GGJohn]

12. +1000. eom.

[missingthebigdog]

13. A Graduation is a celebration!

If the ceremony takes a little longer, so be it. Families are proud of their graduates, and rightfully so.

I also have no issue with "ridiculous" behavior on the part of the graduate, as long as it is brief and not offensive. It is their day, their ceremony, and they should be allowed to make it memorable.

The idea that a graduation should be a solemn occasion is odd to me. . . .

[marshall]

35. Public shaming?

Take their photo and post it to the school's Facebook page, along with an explanation of their rude behavior. This wouldn't be my choice in dealing with it, but it's less extreme than arrest.

[frylock]

15. signed

[Tommy_Carcetti]

16. Thanks. nt

[onecaliberal]

19. I find that very difficult to believe... So the judge was at the graduation?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

20. Well, the judge would simply review the warrant application for probable cause to issue it.

That being said, you have to seriously question the judgment of a judge who thinks there's probable cause to charge people for "disturbing the peace" by the simple act of cheering their children at graduation.

[onecaliberal]

22. How did the judge know people cheered for their children if the school didn't notify?

This is what the racists do. This is part of making POC and minorities "pay" to live in society.

[christx30]

23. And people wonder why there is so little respect

for the law these days. When it's used as a hammer against people like this, who can respect the judge that signs it? Who would pay a fine if they don't think they did anything wrong? Who would submit to arrest for anything like that?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

24. I think you forgot this.

[GGJohn]

25. What the fuck is the matter with you?

You think this is appropriate? How did these 4 parents ruin it for the majority?

[elehhhhna]

26. fuck yeah freedom of speech ring a bell, judge????

[giftedgirl77]

27. I think you're lost.

[chillfactor]

28. when I graduated with my Master's degree...

my son yelled out "Way to go Grandma!" and some of the audience clapped...it is a moment in my life I will hold dear until the day I die...

guess you never graduated from anything or you would not be such a spoil sport...graduation is a time of joy and celebration....if you do not like family members cheering for their graduates then do not attend a graduation


btw I had 6 grandchildren when I graduated...

[PersonNumber503602]

29. The same goes for the family/friends who don't wear suit & tie or formal dress

to these events. It's rude and disrespectful toward our sacred educational institutions. Being loud and under dressing while attending a graduation ceremony should be mandatory life sentence without chance of parole.

NO SARCASM!!!!!!!111!

[chillfactor]

30. you are kidding..right?

formal dress is a thing of the past...and my family yelled and supported me through all of my graduations...memories forever cherished.....get with the program and enter the 21st century..

[PersonNumber503602]

31. Off to ADX with them!

Yeah, I'm kidding. I'm also assuming the person I replied to was being sarcastic too.

[chillfactor]

34. you are kidding right?

dress clothes are a thing of the past.....and cheering on family is a graduation tradition....get with the program...I love it when family members cheer for the graduates..my family cheered for me and I

[LiberalElite]

32. Oh, now it comes out that

two were black. Race was a factor for sure. I signed the petition already though.

[romanic]

33. Disturbing the peace???

What did the relatives set off fireworks in the audience or something? JFC

[Tommy_Carcetti]

37. Senatobia superintendent: Graduation should be 'solemn'

http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2015/06/06/superintendent-wont-say-if-hell-drop-cheering-charges/28597595/

Senatobia superintendent: Graduation should be 'solemn'
Jeff Amy, Associated Press

The Mississippi school superintendent who pressed charges against people for cheering at a high school graduation says he plans to be in court Tuesday and make a statement then, but won't say if he'll drop the charges.

Senatobia school Superintendent Jay Foster reiterated in a telephone interview Friday that his aim is to ensure that some families don't ruin graduations for others by raising a ruckus. He said that when he first started at Senatobia four years ago, out-of-control cheering meant some families couldn't hear a graduate's name called or see them cross the stage to receive their diploma.

"I think graduation should be a solemn occasion," he said. "It should have some dignity and decorum and at the end we'll celebrate together."

*****

"We thought, let's serve them with papers for disturbing the peace," he said. "They'll pay a fine. Maybe they'll learn their lesson. It was not about punishing these people. It was about the rights of the other graduates."

__________________________________________________________________________________________

What a patronizing jackass.

[GGJohn]

38. What a fucking asshole.

I dearly hope the judge slaps him down on Tuesday.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

39. I'd love if the judge held him in comtempt for wasting the court's time.

You know, just to "send him a message."

But I'm hardly that optimistic.