Act, dress respectably at graduation

Note: Lamar County High School has moved its graduation ceremony to 9 a.m. Saturday morning from Friday nights in an attempt to dodge bad weather and cut out raucous behavior by graduation guests. This piece appeared in the Macon Telegraph commenting on a photo of a police officer removing a young man wearing shorts and flip-flops from a ceremony there.By Kathleen McLaneThe young man pictured on your front page being escorted out of a graduation ceremony by an officer was doing his job. Hooray for the officer. Boo to the whining young man. Boo to the mother of his friend who defended him for being dressed like he was going to the nearest rave event.Since every person, their families and friends had been notified of the dress code, this young man should have been told by his friend of the code. Both the mother and this young man knew of the rules for dress at graduation ceremonies. These rules were not new, so let’s get to the crux of this young mans actions. He violated three rules that he likely knew about:1. No flip flops2. No shorts.3. No sweatshirts.Where was his beach ball? Everyone knows these ceremonies were getting completely out of hand with the antics of the attendees. They were beginning to look similar to tailgating at a UGA game. Seems to me he was testing the waters to see what he could get away with, make a scene in public, get people riled up to make his point, and thought he should be able to get away with it.Whatever happened to proper demeanor? Would he wear this outfit to a ceremony that was meant for him? Would he wear this outfit to visit the president? The college recruiter?If this young man wishes to be treated as a respected adult then he must act like one and accept rules that are made to make things nicer and safer for all.To graduate school is to reach a hard-earned goal. Recognition of that accomplishment deserves at least decent dress by the people there to help celebrate this most revered occasion.How disappointed I would be to see my friends and family looking like slobs while I’m celebrating one of the most important days of my life. How nice it would have been to look out at the audience and see nicely dressed people.Kathleen McLane is from Centerville, Ga.