I’m going to break from tradition. The following post has nothing to do with North Fort Wayne River Development but concerns an issue that warrants a response. I submitted the following Letter to the Editor regarding the recent FWCS Graduation Lockout…
(An open letter to FWCS Administrators)It appears ceremonies have changed little since my graduation from Snider over twenty years ago.So what if a few overzealous parents and friends of graduating students applaud, whoop it up, or yell in support of their graduate’s accomplishment? So what if they show up late to the event? Was it due to a lack of respect for the event itself or a family emergency? Do you even know?What is really accomplished by denying them access to the well-earned ceremony other than to assert your control over the graduates for the last time?What a nice example you set for your graduates about freedom of speech and self expression! I remember too well, the angst I felt at seeing the parents of fellow graduates escorted off the premises, parents perhaps applauding the first member of their family to graduate from high school. At my own graduation we were well-warned that tossing our caps into the air would result in the withholding of our diplomas. Thanks for the respect you showed us by instilling such fear.FWCS continues to be more concerned with appearances than with proper instruction. With your recent logo remake (see here, here, here, & here), you paid $15,000 to a local advertising company to come up with a new design so similar to the agency’s own logo as to draw questions about the expense paid. Show a little respect for the futures of your graphic arts students. You missed the perfect opportunity to provide real-life work experience by awarding scholarships for the winning design: $5,000 to the winner, $3,000 to the runner up and $1000 for honorable mention. The $9,000 in scholarships would have saved you $6,000 in expenses and provided an invaluable leg-up for these students.Show a little respect, FWCS administrators. You claim that “We Are Your Schools.” Act accordingly. Allow supporters the opportunity to applaud the efforts of their graduates. Perhaps graduation ceremonies will be a half an hour longer. Don’t your students and their parents deserve that much?Over twenty years, and yet FWCS has learned so little about human behavior. By denying family members their first amendment rights for free speech, you encourage the very behavior you seek to repress. Allowing ample time for applause won’t hurt you or diminish reasonable decorum.I for one, applaud their civil disobedience. These are our future leaders, the ones who will determine the course we set, and care for us in our old age. If you really believe in them, show a little respect.David A. MacDonald
R. Nelson Snider High School Graduate
Class of 1985P.S. Allowing a prayer to be recited during the ceremony wouldn’t hurt either.”
