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Well, here you are at your college graduation. And I know what you’re thinking: “Gimme the sheepskin and get me outta here!” Not so fast. First you have to listen to a commencement speech. Don’t moan. I’m not going to “pass the wisdom of one generation down to the next.” I’m a member of the 1960s generation. We didn’t have any wisdom. We were the moron generation. We were the generation who believed we could stop the war in Vietnam by growing our hair long and dressing like circus clowns. We believed drugs would change everything—which they did, for John...

He sued after his high school held the ceremony in a Baptist church TRENTON, N.J. - A Muslim student who sued because his public high school graduation ceremony was held in a Baptist church has received an apology from the largest school district in New Jersey and assurances that it will not hold future events in houses of worship. Bilal Shareef said he had to skip his 2006 graduation from West Side High School because his religious beliefs prohibit him from entering buildings containing icons of God. "I was forced to choose between honoring my education and my faith, and...

Commencement Celebrities by: Deborah Lambert, June 12, 2008 According to USA Today, it appears that students are having more of a say in determining who will give the annual commencement address. This year’s list of luminaries—and others— who will give the class of 2008 a sendoff include: Oprah Winfrey—Stanford University J.K. Rowling—Harvard University Jon Stewart—William and Mary Craig Newmark of Craig’s List—Case Western Reserve Jessica Lange—Sarah Lawrence College Brian Williams—Ohio State University Michael Bloomberg—University of Pennsylvania David McCullough— Boston College Meredith Viera—Tufts University Al Gore—Carnegie Mellon University Sandra Day O'Connor—Gettysburg College Carl Bernstein—University of Maryland...

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (WCCO) ― Flying the Confederate flag has long been controversial in Southern states but now it's causing a heated debate at Kennedy High School in Bloomington, Minn. Three seniors who displayed the flag will not be allowed to attend their graduation ceremony Wednesday evening. "It was sitting like that in the parking lot," said Justin Thompson, as he held a Confederate flag that was hanging from a pole inside a pick-up truck bed. On Tuesday, three seniors, each with a rebel flag on the back of their pick-ups, parked at Kennedy High School. "I'm just a country type...

...That is, unless we come together and fix America's myriad flaws (like poverty, which never disappears), we're all doomed. This went well past the standard graduation calls for community service and voluntarism. The senator chided those who seek life's material rewards: "Fulfilling your immediate wants and needs," he insisted, "betrays a poverty of ambition." In fact, Obama himself was betraying a poverty of understanding US history. After all, it's not too many Americans pursuing their dreams that threatens the nation's greatness- it's too few. Obama's America has two groups: those in need- and those who care for them. Missing are...

WASHINGTON, May 22, 2008 – The Pentagon Channel and cable company Comcast are teaming up to offer customers televised coverage of this year’s graduation ceremonies at the service academies. “We appreciate Comcast’s decision to carry the Pentagon Channel’s coverage of the military service academy graduations,” Brian Natwick, general manager of the Pentagon Channel, stated in a Comcast news release. Featured coverage includes this year’s graduation ceremonies at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. Comcast digital cable customers throughout New Jersey,...

After Action Report Coast Guard Academy Graduation support rally, May 21, 2008 Hi folks, it was good to be back in the saddle again. Today, the following Eagles took part in what is most likely our annual Coast Guard Academy Graduation support rally: Jim Bancroft Larry Baily Carolyn VanZorge Fernando Martinez Bill Wilkins Eva Bauman Kathy Upton Pamela Hall Dave Russo Dan Maloney "NEW" Eagle Ted Bakacs Paul Leblanc The New York/New Jersey Eagles showed up earlier than most due to dedication on their part and computer failure on my part which would have had me only 10 minutes late...

While Gov. Rick Perry was in Johnson Coliseum addressing SFA graduates, on the other side of campus a group of citizens were not so happy about his appearance in Nacogdoches. In the free-speech area of campus, near North Street and Vista Drive, many farmers, property owners and concerned citizens gathered for a Citizens Against the Trans-Texas Corridor Rally. Holding protest signs and using a tractor as a symbol of the farming community, those who gathered wanted to make their cause heard by the governor, as well as the community. Many vehicles traveling on North Street honked in support of the...

The Gathering of Eagles, a patriotic organization dedicated to honoring our men and women in uniform and those who are honorable veterans, announces our latest event in honoring the graduates of the Coast Guard Academy by welcoming their families and supporters to their graduation ceremony on May 21, 2008. We will be in front of the entrance on Mohegan Ave, at the intersection of Williams and Mohegan from 7 AM to 1 PM that day, waving flags, carrying patriotic signs and singing patriotic songs in an effort to welcome the families to what is a most honored event; the graduation...

Well, here you are at your college graduation. And I know what you're thinking: "Gimme the sheepskin and get me outta here!" But not so fast. First you have to listen to a commencement speech. Don't moan. I'm not going to "pass the wisdom of one generation down to the next." I'm a member of the 1960s generation. We didn't have any wisdom. We were the moron generation. We were the generation that believed we could stop the Vietnam War by growing our hair long and dressing like circus clowns. We believed drugs would change everything -- which they did,...

President Bush speaking to graduating class Greensburg, KS-one year after tornado

Durango High School will allow its highest-performing students to wear white robes at graduation, reversing an earlier decision to require all students to wear red robes. Principal Diane Lashinsky said she had learned "a great deal" from the controversy over graduation robes. Lashinsky decided several months ago that all students would wear red robes at the May 24 graduation ceremony, ending a tradition where students with grade-point averages of 4.0 or greater wear honorary white robes. Lashinsky said she felt the white gowns "diminish the accomplishment and hard work of other graduates by relative comparison." Her decision caused an uproar...

Recently, Collin Powell's new group, America's Promise Alliance, issued a report (the link to it is at the bottom center of their home page.) from the EPE Research Center listing the large cities in this country which had the worst graduation rates. Shockingly, many of our biggest cities have graduation rates of less than 50% with the worst, Detroit, graduating only 25% of it's high schoolers. Given the perception that most cities are liberal leaning at best, I decided to see if there was any correlation between a city's liberalism and the results from this graduation rate study. Yes, I...

Through email, and the blog, here. Background: I’m doing this in OPORD format, since most of us know that format the best. SITUATION: I was contacted today through work by the Senior Group Leader of the Basic Non-Commission Officers Course (BNCOC) on the grounds at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Any of you who have been to PLDC, BNCOC, ANCOC or Sergeant Majors Academy no doubt remember these courses. They’re not exactly R&R. Now imagine doing it as a wounded troop. Here was his first missive to me: I am currently an active duty Army NCO conducting first of it’s...

Ready, Shoot, Aim!: Napolitano's higher education proposals are off the mark By Matthew Ladner, Ph.D. Governor Janet Napolitano called for the doubling of the number of college graduates by 2020 in her 2007 state of the state address and paying the tuition for students who graduate high school with a B average. How fast can you say grade inflation? What's important to note, however, is that there isn't any reason to think Arizona needs such a doubling. In the Carnegie Foundation's publication Change, Paul Barton wrote that the notion that the U.S. has a dire need for an ever increasing...

Hello FR, I just wanted to extend my hand to you all in thanks for the sanity checks you've all given me over the past 7+ years (my God, has it been that long?). See, I have finally graduated from the University of Connecticut with my Bachelor's in electrical engineering. (Although the ceremony for tomorrow is canceled due to the weather.) It took me quite a while to do so, going on a part-time basis and taking the classes I could afford, but I did it - and I want to thank you all for helping me keep my head...

Community College Bowl by: Malcolm A. Kline, October 30, 2007 Community colleges have tried just about every promotional gimmick short of a “Going out of business” sale. Ironically, given their increasing use of remedial coursework, that might be the most appropriate stratagem for them to use. “Estimates vary, but many community-college educators and experts say that on average between 40 percent and 70 percent of new students entering two-year colleges around the country place into remedial math,” Debra E. Blum reports in The Chronicle of Higher Education. And the news gets even worse. “There are students taking these courses three,...

Former student plans appeal of district court decision: WASHINGTON — Everett School District officials did not violate a student’s First Amendment rights by not allowing a high school wind ensemble to play “Ave Maria” during the 2006 graduation ceremonies, a federal judge ruled Thursday. The U.S. District Court in Seattle ruled that although music is considered a form of speech that can be protected, the school district was within its legal rights to control the content — not the viewpoint — of any speech at the graduation ceremony. Because Henry M. Jackson High School’s “prohibition of the performance of ‘Ave...

Iraqi police (IP) celebrate their gradation from the Baghdad police college in the Rusafa district, Sept. 20. The first class of its kind graduated 744 IPs of Abu Ghraib province from the 30-day course, which provides training before returning the local police officers to their communities. Photo by U.S. Army Spc. Leith Edgar, 7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment. BAGHDAD — Iraq’s capital gained 744 more police officers as the newest members of the Iraqi Security Force graduated from the Baghdad Police College in the Rusafa District, Sept. 20.The graduation ceremony followed 30 days of training in which the Iraqi Police...

Valedictorian Threatened with Loss of Diploma over Religious Graduation Message Sues School DENVER, CO, August 27, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Today, Liberty Counsel filed suit against Lewis Palmer School District on behalf of Erica Corder, a high school valedictorian who was forced to publicly apologize for sharing her Christian faith at graduation. Erica was one of fifteen valedictorians from the Lewis-Palmer High School class of 2006. For the past year, she has been the subject of criticism because the school continues to portray her as a student who engaged in improper conduct because she mentioned Jesus Christ during her speech. Before...

I have to share -- I took my last final as an undergraduate at 8 a.m. this morning. I graduate Saturday, cum laude, with a BA in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. I'm 35, and this was a return to school as a homeschooling mom of twins :) I'm just so happy! And I start grad school next week LOL Just thought I'd share! I have no regrets over having put off the "college experience" -- I am a much better student now than I was as a "kid" -- and I can't imagine not having been home with my babies...

'Helicopter parents' still hover even as grads pound pavement By Eleanor Yang Su STAFF WRITER July 5, 2007 Rowena Paz's parents did everything they could to help her land a good job after college. They edited her résumé, suggesting experience she should play up or cut out. Her mother called regularly to remind Paz, 21, to get enough sleep before interviews. Her father coached her with interview questions and drove her to three job interviews in Los Angeles, because “driving in Los Angeles is tension-filled.” It came naturally for Paz's parents, who for years shuttled her to music and karate...

Did you feel the huge atmospheric gust that just surged across the United States? Public school bureaucrats exhaled a collective sigh of relief as springtime graduations concluded, and with them those dreaded valedictory speeches. Concluded, that is, until next year’s crop of valedictorians ripen, and skittish administrators feel compelled to vet students’ graduation remarks. It’s nerve-wracking for public school officials - especially if those brainiacs are believers. Like dandelions, they are, those pesky Christian kids who pop up to spoil a perfectly secularized landscape. Worse yet; if those religious seedlings excel academically, they earn the privilege of speaking at their...

The issue of graduation from home-schooling is one that scares a lot of people. People are concerned that no "real diploma" is given with home-schooling. They think institutions of higher education, career programs or potential employers may look at one's resume and say, "You were home-schooled? What kind of diploma did you get?" Home-schooling families address graduation in various ways. In some, the parents create a diploma for their graduate. In others, the student takes a GED or other nationally recognized test for documentation. Some correspondence programs give a diploma when the student has successfully passed all applicable courses. It...

FORT WORTH — Students who had been planning to walk across the stage at graduation ceremonies this weekend were instead walking a picket line Thursday morning. The Trimble Tech High School seniors marched in front of Fort Worth Independent School District headquarters to protest Wednesday's decision by trustees to bar students who failed the TAKS test from commencement exercises. About a dozen young people, carrying signs and chanting, began picketing at 8:30 a.m. Thursday. They represent the 613 Fort Worth seniors who did not pass the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills exam. Crystal Martinez complained that while she finished...

In the May issue of my National Liberty Journal newspaper, we featured the story of Megan Chapman, who last year was forced to make a choice between standing up for her faith in Jesus Christ or allowing school officials to silence her. She chose not to be silent, even though Russell Springs, Ky., school officials told her she could not mention Jesus or her faith in her valedictorian speech. At the commencement, more than 3,000 people packed her school's gymnasium, with members of the press in attendance. And before the principal of the school could finish making his opening remarks,...

President Bush today brought an upbeat message of public service to the graduating class of St. Vincent College in Latrobe. Speaking at the morning ceremony, the President saluted students for their service projects and encouraged them to "keep it up" and make it "more than a line on your resume." As Mr. Bush spoke, about 150 anti-war protesters assembled down Route 30 from the campus. Mr. Bush, whose appearance generated controversy because of the ongoing Iraq War, only referred to the conflict once, and that was also in the context of service to the country. He saluted five students who...

My oldest niece is graduating from high school next month and we are trying to come up with cool and different things to serve and other ideas for her open house. We'd appreciate any recipes, hints, what not to do, etc. etc..

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A California assemblyman is pushing a novel way of getting teenagers to register to vote: withhold their high school diploma if they don't. Democrat Joe Coto of San Jose has proposed requiring voter registration as a condition of graduation. "I think we need to establish a pattern of voting," Coto said. "It has to be a habit, almost as natural as when you reach the age of 16 and get a driver's license." Coto's bill, Assembly Bill 183, would apply only to high school seniors who are 18, U.S. citizens and meet other election requirements. The measure...

A national group is asking Arizona's public universities to require at least one United States history course of every student before graduation. American History currently isn't a required course at any of the state's major public universities. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni has written letters to Gov. Janet Napolitano and 20 state lawmakers, asking them to pressure college regents and administrators to make the change. "The flag doesn't mean all that much if you don't know how it got there," trustees member Charles Mitchell said. "What use is the Constitution if you don't know how it was written?"...

The valedictorian of a Blue Ribbon-awarded high school in New Jersey has left teachers and administrators with a sour taste in their mouths after using his June 20 valedictory speech to describe his education as "hollow" and one filled with "countless hours wasted in those halls." "I felt like the most important questions were not asked." said Kareem Elnahal, the top rated student at Mainland Regional High School in Linwood, N.J. "Things like ethics, things that defined who we are, were ignored so in that way I thought it was hollow." he told Cybercast News Service Wednesday. Mainland High School...

Dozens of residents of a small island community off Newfoundland's northeast coast gathered recently to celebrate a high school graduation — although only one person was actually graduating. Courtney Diamond, 18, was the sole member of the Grade 12 class at A.R. Scammell Academy in Change Islands, which has fewer than 400 residents. "It felt pretty good, actually," said Diamond. "I thought I should deserve a graduation, even though it's only me, like everyone else would have." Almost 100 people attended the ceremony, which involved a traditional church service, a grand march, and a dinner and dance. Roy Morgan is...

Civics 101: Silence a Student's Speech, Face a Potential Lawsuit Plug-Pulling High School Likely to Be Sued Next Week for Silencing Christian Student By Jim Brown June 22, 2006 (AgapePress) - A civil liberties group says it plans to sue the Nevada high school that unplugged the microphone of a valedictorian because her commencement speech mentioned her faith in Jesus Christ. The Rutherford Institute says it plans to file a lawsuit against Foothill High School in Henderson as early as next week over its censorship of senior Brittany McComb. Officials with the Clark County School District pulled the plug on...

LAS VEGAS, June 22, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The name of Christ is so offensive to modern secular ears that Clark County School District officials, who knew it was coming, cut off the microphone during a valedictorian address before they or anyone else could hear it.   Brittany McComb is a Christian and a top student graduating from Foothill High. She knew that her valedictorian address would probably be cut short, but was determined to go ahead and mention the one name that is for her above every other name.   "I went through four years of school at Foothill and they taught me...

MIRA LOMA - Josh Denhalter took the symbolic step into the next phase of his life without any fuss. Little applause, but no discernible boos or honking party horns, greeted the announcement of his name Wednesday evening at the Jurupa Valley High School graduation. That is likely the way the 18-year-old wanted it. Denhalter received considerable media attention in March, after he was suspended from school for passing out fliers for an off-campus anti-illegal immigration protest. School district Superintendent Elliott Duchon has said Denhalter wasn’t suspended for expressing himself, but because he refused to stop passing out fliers and encouraging...

Study: Los Angeles 44 Percent Graduation Rate, Sixth Worst LOS ANGELES, June 21, 2006 - A recent study shows Los Angeles, the nation's second-largest school district, has only a 44 percent graduation rate - the sixth worst among U.S. cities. The national study published Tuesday by the nonpartisan publication Education Week with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation showed a failure rate much greater that district officials claimed. The district has insisted the graduation rate is closer to 64 percent. The Los Angeles Unified School District was sixth from the bottom in graduation rates out of the nation's...

A new report says the city's high schools graduate just 38.9 percent of their students, but New York officials, who claim the rate is closer to 53 percent, are disputing the methodology behind the lower figure. The study, released Tuesday by Education Week magazine, ranks the graduation rate of the nation's largest school system as the third lowest among the 50 biggest school districts in the country. Detroit fared the worst, with a rate of 21.7 percent, while Fairfax County, Va., was ranked the best, with 82.5 percent of students graduating. City Department of Education officials said Tuesday that the...

Minnesota School Agrees to Allow Students' Christian Song at Graduation By Allie Martin June 8, 2006 (AgapePress) - A Minnesota public high school that had banned two of its students from singing a religious song at this year's graduation ceremonies reversed course and allowed the selection, but only after Florida-based Liberty Counsel intervened with the threat of legal action. LaPorte High School students Aaron Reimer and Victoria Raddatz had been invited by a student-led committee to sing a song at commencement, and they had chosen "Treasure of Jesus," a song by Steven Curtis Chapman, as their selection. However, administrators at...

LEVITTOWN, Pennsylvania (June 6) - A deal is being negotiated that would allow a high school's class president to participate in Friday's graduation ceremony despite concern that he could be targeted by a gang. Tyrone Lewis, 18, had been scheduled to be one of the speakers at the Truman High School commencement ceremony, but police were worried that he could be targeted by a gang from Trenton, New Jersey, because his sister had testified in a murder trial. Lewis had been barred from the ceremony. Dave Truelove, the Bristol Township School District's solicitor, confirmed Tuesday that talks are in progress...

For Maquisha Cosey, vice president of Thornton Fractional North High School's class of 2006, graduation day is not one she'll soon forget. And not for any of the sentimental reasons. It's the day that Cosey, who was listed on Friday's graduation program as the leader of the pledge to the flag, was arrested and charged with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct after trying to participate in the ceremony despite being denied entry for being late. "I know that this shouldn't have happened to me. It shouldn't happen to anyone," says the graduate. Instead of celebrating her big day, she spent...

St. Johnsbury's top cop, the Vermont State Police, and the Central Intelligence Agency are preparing for a possible protest over the guest speaker at St. Johnsbury Academy graduation. U.S. Director of Intelligence John Negroponte, a veteran diplomat and the father of a graduating Academy student, is slated to speak at the Monday morning ceremony. The choice in speakers has already drawn fire, spurring law enforcement to plan for a possible protest. "We've got contingency plans in place," said St. Johnsbury Police Chief Rich Leighton. "They'll be plenty of security between us, the state police and the CIA." Leighton is unsure...

In the spirit of the times, it was reported today that Dr. Richard Robbat, Superintendent of Schools for the King Philip Regional School District, Norfolk, MA, has barred from the high school graduation ceremony Army officers there to present to two graduates their appointments to The US Military Academy at West Point. Dr. Robbat, apparently now hiding under his desk, refused to talk to the WRKO reporters calling him and instead had the school principal answer questions. According to a school spokesdrone, the superintendent feels it is "inappropriate for any special presentations at the school graduation." Calls to Dr. Robbat"...

PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: President and Mrs. Bush and their long-time friends, former Commerce Secretary Don Evans and his wife, are spending Memorial Day weekend together at Camp David. There is speculation in the media that the President may ask Mr. Evans to become the next Treasury Secretary. Today, the President traveled to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, to give the commencement address to the Corps of Cadets. SCHEDULE UPDATE: NOTE -- so far, new Press Secretary Tony Snow has not been annoucing the Week Ahead in his press briefings. Scott McClellan has stopped...

A state court of appeals has decided against ruling on the high school exit exam before graduation, dealing what seems a final blow to 47,000 high school seniors who flunked the test required for a diploma. On Thursday, the appellate court scheduled oral arguments for July 25, more than a month after most students would have donned a cap and gown. Lawyers for students suing over the test asked justices to settle the issue of diplomas now, reserving the right to decide the merits of the case later. Friday afternoon, the court denied the request. Arturo Gonzalez, the lawyer representing...

I wish I could have been there to witness it myself. After Judge Joseph H. McKinley Jr. issued a restraining order barring Russell County (Ky.) High School and senior Megan Chapman from including prayer at the school's graduation ceremony, students decided to take matters in their own hands. (Miss Chapman was elected by students last fall as the senior class chaplain.) In an act of protest to the court order issued just hours before the graduation, about 200 seniors spontaneously stood and began reciting the Lord's Prayer, prompting a standing ovation from a standing-room only crowd at the ceremony. The...

PORT McNEILL - A 17-year-old caught drinking with his father received 10 hours of community work and a six-month conditional discharge, May 9 in provincial court. The father and son were found drinking together Apr. 9 at the Dalewood Inn, but that was just the beginning of his case, Crown counsel Leslie Fillingham told court. The youth was first arrested for causing a disturbance after he fingered a police officer earlier in the year, and released on the condition that he not drink, said Crown counsel Leslie Fillingham. That charge was eventually dropped, but not before the youth twice breached...

The preponderance of commencement speakers at our nation's top colleges and universities were Democratic Party officials, leftist activists, and members of the old media, according to a survey released by Young America’s Foundation. The survey also uncovers separate graduation ceremonies for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered (LGBT) students as well as Black students.

American Muslim News Briefs Thursday, May 25, 2006 KY: High School Prayer Axed After Muslim Complaint Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS SHELBYVILLE - The principal of Shelby County High School said the school will not have formal prayer at graduation exercises next month after receiving a complaint from a student and the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky. Principal Gary Kidwell met Monday with the Board of Education and a lawyer as residents held a prayer vigil outside. Tuesday, Kidwell said the school will break from the tradition of student-led invocations and benedictions at graduation June 2. The school "will be compliant...

Calif. Supreme Court reinstates exit exam By DAVID KRAVETS, Associated Press Writer 25 minutes ago The California Supreme Court on Wednesday reinstated the state's high school exit exam as a graduation requirement, but it was not immediately clear whether the decision means tens of thousands of high school seniors who failed the test won't graduate this year. The high court ordered a state appeals court to hold hearings in the case. This year's class was the first in which passing the test of 10th grade English and eighth grade math and algebra was required for graduation. A group of students...

DANBURY — Western Connecticut State University graduate Krista M. Lindstedt wants an apology from commencement speaker Catherine Crier, who turned Sunday's graduation ceremony into "more of a political rally than a commencement speech that should be positive, motivational and happy." "Overall she offended a lot of people," said Lindstedt, 33, of Crier's speech, which lasted at least 20 minutes. "It was completely, completely inappropriate. It was a slap in the face to veterans" — and soldiers like herself. An Air Force staff sergeant, Lindstedt is a medical services "craftsman," doing everything a civilian nurse does, although she cannot give intravenous...