It’s Graduation Time Again

American Thinker ^ | 1 Jun, 2025 | Clarice Feldman

[MtnClimber]

In recent years, graduations have become stages for performative, divisive screeds at a largely captive audience.

Americans may not have as many rituals as some other peoples do, but we have some. One of those is graduation, symbolizing the transition from one stage of life to another and a celebration of a young person’s accomplishments. (We may actually overdo these, as what was once a transition from college and high school studies is now often celebrated from even pre-nursery school.) Still, it plays a significant part of life, structuring time and change. Parents and grandparents who sat through boring recitals, sports events, prize days, supported kids dealing with difficult interpersonal issues, hard courses, college admission hurdles, and sacrificed to pay the cost of schooling can now cheer (or mourn) that those activities are now over.

For all the relatives’ work they now get to sit in hot muggy weather on uncomfortable folding chairs and listen to a variety of speakers selected who knows how. I’m old enough to remember when at worst we heard boring anodyne speeches to graduates about making your mark, improving the world, sharing the blessings of the your newly acquired knowledge with a world desperate for the pearls of newly acquired knowledge. Maybe a few dumb jokes were thrown in. Then everyone got their diplomas and headed for the nearest bar.

In recent years, they’ve become stages for performative, divisive screeds at a largely captive audience. You don’t have to tolerate this. Years ago, I walked out the middle of some of these speeches at very fine universities, Duke and UCLA law school. I’m not sure the even more offensive ceremonies these days would lure me to stay seated for more than 10 minutes. You needn’t play prisoner to this nonsense

[MtnClimber]

I would not sit through it. I would be giving them the finger on the way out.

[Redleg Duke]

I remember my commencement ceremony from the University of Wisconsin - Madison in June of 1970. All the little Marxists giving the Nazi salute with the peace sign. I was able to come home just for the ceremony from annual training.

I only attended because I owed it to my parents.

[Adder]

Never was much for the Pomp and Circumstance. I am not sure why its a thing.
As a parent, if I paid thousands for my little darling to get a degree, I certainly would not stand to be insulted by a bunch of snot nosed know nothings.

“Higher education” is anything but that. It deserves to be starved by parents and alums.

[TermLimits4All]

My daughter’s HS graduation this year was perfect. Good uplifting non-woke speeches. None of the kids did any displays, it was very organized and professional. I’d imagine the inner cities were a joke.
My last one soon to be out of the house. The university both of them attend is a mostly white school and the weirdos are the minority. I look forward to my oldest graduation in a couple years.

[Kudsman]

Graduating students at Hunter College’s Silberman School of Social Work disrupted their ceremony with chants and banners in support of Palestine. “Turn your back on Silberman, all eyes on Palestine!” “PALESTINE WILL FREE US ALL.”

Frankenstein's monster can't wait to burn their own ivory tower down. Democrats built this.

[No name given]

‘“Higher education” is anything but that. It deserves to be starved by parents and alums.’

I couldn’t agree more.

[Farmerbob]

I went to a gang fight and a graduation broke out.

I thought this article was going to be about ghetto graduations.

[bgill]

The graduates throwing a party a few houses away last weekend need to return for a better education that obviously failed them. They dragged a tiny portion of their garbage down to our garbage bin stuffing it without an inch left for our garbage. Never mind we pay for the service at $25 each pick up. This is one of the thousand reasons I despise the weekend rentals that have popped up here. I found an adult there but the graduates were gone to live their piss ant lives. They sure didn’t earn their adulting sticker with this stunt. Just wait for them to play out their stupidity and rudeness to someone who is more willing to make them seriously pay for their immature childish deeds. Get off my lawn!