Parents of graduates lack manners

Last week people across Utah were getting their knickers in a knot over one school's decision to ban the wearing of leis during commencement exercises. School administrators, apparently, felt that leis — especially when piled up to a student's eyeballs — could be distracting and a potential safety hazard.

I think if schools are really worried about distractions and safety hazards at commencement, they should forget the leis and ban the parents.

My daughter's high school graduation was held last week at the Huntsman Center. And yes, certain things were banned, such as "artificial noise-making devices" and confetti. Notices to this effect were posted throughout the building, written on the programs and announced by the principal before the ceremony began.

So, naturally, there were people throwing confetti and using noisemakers of all kinds (the drums were especially creative). This was irritating, but what I found really upsetting (besides the last two rows of male graduates who kept pulling beach balls out of who-knows-where and bouncing them around at the most inappropriate moments) was that most of the noise was coming from adults who seemed to think just because their child (or grandchild or niece or nephew or whatever) wasn't onstage giving a speech, performing or accepting their diploma, it was perfectly OK to be noisy, raucous and carry on loud and lengthy conversations while other people's children were onstage.

Have these people never heard of concert etiquette? Or just plain good manners? Seriously. They were talking during "The Star-Spangled Banner." Who talks during "The Star-Spangled Banner"? (And by the way, I would like to give a shout-out to the young man who sang that song at our event. He deserved every lei he was wearing.)

Despite all the noise around me, I managed to refrain from beating anyone over the head with their own air horn, although I was sorely tempted.

But then my daughter and several other seniors took their seats in the orchestra to play what would be the last musical performance of their high school career. As the orchestra began its number, one of the boys sitting in the previously mentioned back rows decided that was the perfect moment to start tossing a beach ball around. At which, the school's beach ball security detail decided it had finally had enough and attempted to escort the beach ball thrower out. Which is when several audience members, including a gentleman sitting a couple rows behind me, began to boo. Loudly. While the orchestra was still playing.

So I turned around and gave him a look.

And he went ballistic.