Student Denied Diploma After Blowing Kiss At Graduation.

[edbermac]

STANDISH, Maine -- Justin Denney's family watched as he ascended the Cumberland County Civic Center stage during graduation Friday night to accept his diploma, but the superintendent told him to return to his seat. The Bonny Eagle High School senior's mother said she can't believe her son's taking a bow and blowing a kiss on stage led was grounds for the superintendent to withhold his diploma.

Mary Denney wants an apology, and her son wants his diploma, reported WMTW-TV in Portland, Maine. "I'm like, 'Did she not hand him his diploma?' I'm like, 'What's going on?'" Mary Denney said. She said she and Justin both signed a code of conduct regarding the graduation when she picked up graduation tickets on Friday, but she doesn't think he violated it. "There was no misbehavior. Showboating is not misbehavior," Mary Denney said. "A bow, a kiss to your mom is not misbehavior. There was no need of my son not getting his diploma."

WMTW tried to contact the district's superintendent and the school's principal, but neither returned the calls by Monday evening.

Before the school began handing out diplomas, some students pulled out beach balls. One student was forced to sit away from his classmates with staff while police escorted another student behind the stage. "No arrests were made," Cumberland County Sheriff's Department Deputy Chief Kevin Joyce said. "The individual that was escorted off the stage was asked to leave the civic center. He was to the point where the deputy was starting to get to the point where he wanted to arrest the individual, but gave him several opportunities to settle down. Eventually, he took off his cap and gown and threw it at the deputy and walked out the civic center." The deputy returned to the crowd and took another beach ball away from the students, but Mary Denney said School Area District 6 Superintendent Suzanne Lukas was still upset.

"When she got up there and started speaking, they threw out a couple more balls and she turned around and said, 'More people may not be graduating today if this continues,'" Mary Denney said. While in his seat or waiting in line for his diploma, Justin Denney never touched a beach ball, his mother said. After his name was called, he took a bow, blew a kiss to his family and pointed to friends, but he didn't get his diploma, leaving a whole family in disbelief. "I said, 'What did she ask you?' And, he goes, 'She said, 'There's no fooling around up here,' and he just kind of looked at her because he wasn't fooling around," Mary Denney said. "He didn't consider that fooling around or misbehaving in any sense of the word, and she goes, 'Why do you feel you deserve your diploma?' He goes, 'Because I worked hard and I earned it,' and she goes, 'No, go take your seat.'"

The crowd booed, but Justin Denney still doesn't have his diploma. Now, his mother wants her son to get what he's worked so hard for. "It was appalling, and I want justice for my son. I want her to apologize to my son and I want her to hand him his diploma while he is in his cap and gown," Mary Denney said. Both of Justin Denney's grandparents are ill and one of their wishes was to see their grandson graduate from high school, Mary Denney said. Mary Denney said she is planning a graduation party for her son in two weeks, which, by then, she said she hopes she will have a photograph of her son with his diploma.

http://www.newsnet5.com/education/19766393/detail.html

:wtf:

[sasquatch]

1. Egotrip

[havocmom]

4. egotripping control freak she is

out of that job soon we hope

[roguevalley]

21. they can't hold it. its a legal document and they earned it. I would

kick that idiot's sorry ass.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

2. ahh... administrators, also known as bitter ex-teachers who hate kids

you could fire every last one of them and nobody would notice the difference,

While teachers are getting fired all over America - I would love to know how many of these professional bags of shit have found themselves unemployed.

[muntrv]

3. Sheesh! The superintendent treated Justin like he wore

nothing underneath his cap and gown!:eyes:

[baldguy]

5. Graduation is a ceremony for the students in celebration of their achievement.

It is not an opportunity for administrators to assert their authority over them one final time.

[bluestateguy]

6. I remember a HS classmate of mine refusing to shake the principal's hand on the stage

As far as I know he was not denied a diploma.

Public school administrators are not known for being the sharpest tools in the shed.

[girl gone mad]

18. One of my classmates faked a fall on his way up to the stage.

He was into physical comedy and made a ridiculous, protracted scene (think Chris Farley from SNL). No one gave him a hard time.

[CoffeeCat]

20. Oh dear God...

....this must have been the same guy who loved doing the fake fall at the library at
Iowa State University.

I saw him do it at least ten times. He'd fall in the large atrium area, where tons of people
were coming and going. Of course, it was quiet--so the large splash of this tall guy--with
books, pens and his backpack flying everywhere--was quite the scene.

Hilarious!

That takes cajones.

[Posteritatis]

42. Someone doused my university president with beer at our convocation

Whipped a shaken can out from under his robes and *foom*. The president didn't even flinch, acted as if nothing had happened, and went through the rest of the ceremony completely unfazed.

[Canuckistanian]

7. WTF? Has the world gone insane?

Let us hope a little legal action will knock some sense into Ms. Suzanne Lukas.

These are memories you CANNOT erase.

[muntrv]

8. Doncha know? Kissing leads to streaking!

:sarcasm:

[Canuckistanian]

9. Let's have some fun, shall we? Rate Ms. Lukas' performance

http://www.ratemyteachers.com/schools/maine/kennebunk/kennebunk_high_school/suzanne__lukas

[pleah]

14. Done! With pleasure.

:evilgrin:

[CoffeeCat]

19. Done! YES, please rate this joyless control freak!

Let her know that her insanity has been judged by a national audience!

[Iggo]

23. My rating is pending a review.

:evilgrin:

[realisticphish]

33. haha, the last ~50 are all straight 1's

[DKRC]

34. Rating pending review

:thumbsdown:

[nc4bo]

57. Sheesh, why so many "pending review"? Anyway - Done! nt

[sniffa]

10. He should have assaulted her and got his diploma by force

The story's good on it's own but this would have taken it top shelf.

[sasquatch]

12. Dave is obviously a bad influence on you

[bertman]

11. Obviously you folks have not attended some of the graduation "ceremonies" I have or

you wouldn't be so upset about a strict code of conduct being enforced at these events.

Try going to a graduation where there is a competition among families of students to cheer, scream, and raise holy hell when THEIR family member steps forward to get his/her diploma. This gets so obnoxious that you can't hear the names of the students being announced as they go to get their diplomas. The families in question are so rude and inconsiderate that they treat the whole proceeding like it's a basketball or football game where hooting, hollering, and standing high-fives are appropriate.

Then there are the clowns and attention hogs who have to come up with their own gang-sign display, dance steps, fist-pumping, kiss-blowing antics so THEY can be the king or queen of the ball and distract from the other students' diploma presentations.

It got so bad at my niece's school that they finally cut the family invitations to four per student and began enforcing a policy of no disruptive behavior at the event. Much to the relief of most of the students and families, I might add.

Too bad that there are always a few buttholes who have to ruin it for everyone else.

[Iggo]

24. Blowing a kiss to your mom is not "ruining it for everyone else."

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

25. its a graduation - not a mass execution

Then there are the clowns and attention hogs who have to come up with their own gang-sign display, dance steps, fist-pumping, kiss-blowing antics so THEY can be the king or queen of the ball and distract from the other students' diploma presentations.

SO WHAT?

[Raejeanowl]

41. That's A Really Unfortunate Analogy

Maybe we should just dispense with the caps and gowns,the marching,the Pomp and Circumstance, the speeches, the awards presentations, the recognition of scholars, the pretense of dignity altogether. Let's go and throw a tailgate barbecue to live music out in the parking lot while the school sends us our diplomas via email attachment.

No big deal, right? Since no one can be bothered with the intended formality of the occasion anymore, why give even a passing nod to the expectation that this is a rite of transition into adulthood?

Graduation is a ceremony, not a football game or the first audition call to American Idol, that's "so what?"! It's not like they don't get up to Seniors Week and Senior Prom and parties galore and trips to the beach right afterward.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

45. well it seems appropriate

since the only difference is the prisoners get to march off the other side of the scaffold with a diploma instead of being hanged or beheaded.

Somebody strutting across the stage to collect their diploma isn't exactly a big deal or great insult, when my brother graduated he gave the principal a bear hug. At this graduation he probably would have been tasered. At my graduation the science honor students wore football helmets as they crossed the stage, and when I crossed the stage some people started chanting the name of my middle school.

It really isn't a big deal,

[bertman]

53. Thank you for that well-stated explanation, Raejeanowl. Couldn't agree more.

What struck me most at the three graduations I attended where there were no rules was that the loudest, rudest, crudest bunch of folks was having a blast with their little private party atmosphere while everyone else who was just trying to see their family member receive recognition for years of hard work couldn't hear or enjoy the moment of their family member's graduation.

I have also attended high school graduation ceremonies where there were beach balls bouncing around (briefly) and a few families who cheered and screamed and yelled like crazy, but the vast majority of the ceremony was carried out in a respectful and enjoyable manner. So, there can be a middle ground, but I'm not exactly sure how to get there.

[armyowalgreens]

35. As someone who graduated a little over 12 months ago...

And has also attended 5 HS graduations, I think you can stop complaining now.

Shenanigans are always going to happen on graduation night. A few weeks ago I attended my HSs 09 graduation and there were beachballs and silling string. The students know when to disrupt and when not to. Parents can sometimes get annoying, but they usually shut up after 5 or 10 seconds tops.

I frankly don't give a shit what people do when they get up on the stage as long as they don't hold up the line too long.


That superintendent sounds like a bitch. My family would have her face plastered all over the news if she did that to me. Anyone in our town would be pissed.

[Raejeanowl]

38. A High-Five To You

I think we've attended some of the same awful graduations.

Yes, that's the worst problem: hearing you own student's name called because everyone acts like they're drunken fans at a football game.

[sandnsea]

40. That's normal in small town America

So I have to wonder at what point the hooting and hollering and gang-sign display became unacceptable.

[SeattleGirl]

43. Denying a diploma that the kid EARNED through completing his

school work because he blew a freaking kiss?

Sorry, but that wins Teh Stoopid Award for that administrator.

[KG]

13. i flashed a gang sign - still got my diploma - they just wanted me out of there!

[Hissyspit]

29. I wore a pair of old 3-D movie glasses at my college undergrad ceremony. Everyone laughed.

My dad was the only one who had a problem with it, but it wasn't his diploma, was it?

[aquamarina]

15. Wow, Dolores Umbridge lives!

[Canuckistanian]

27. LOL

:rofl:

[realisticphish]

31. haha

*error: dork overload*

;)

[RufusTFirefly]

16. I'm, like, hoping that Justin got a better education than his mother, like, did. n/t

[armyowalgreens]

36. Yeah I noticed the poor grammar.

[CoffeeCat]

17. This hag needs to be taught a lesson...

Graduating from high school means you met the credit requirements. This student did that.

This control freak needs to learn that she isn't always in control--and that she has no business
denying diplomas. She has no power to deny a diploma to someone who has taken and passed the
required classes.

File a suit against her.

Show this horrible person who's really in control.

[Toasterlad]

22. Some Assholes Just Don't Know When to Let Go.

[HughMoran]

26. What kind of self-absorbed ass hole could do such a thing?

Wow.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

46. the professional bags of shit who couldn't cut it as teachers

and moved on to administration

[Horse with no Name]

28. She can't withhold it

She made an ass out of herself and ruined a night that this kids family has been waiting for his entire life. She should be fired. At least reprimanded for her iron-fisted gestapo tactics.
However, how you act on graduation night--which is nothing but a ceremony--cannot supercede the fact that school ended prior to the ceremony and you just cannot go back and flunk someone.
With that being said...my cousin and his friends went commando underneath their gowns...of course, this was in the 70's when we didn't have so many sexually repressed republicans running the show. These days he might have been sent to Gitmo.

[WolverineDG]

30. Dammit, do all adults in charge of schools have broomsticks up their asses now?

Jeezus, I thought it was bad when I was in high school, but no one blinked when pigeons were released, or turned over the bottle of "Dr Pepper" that kids were taking swigs from or ratted out the kids smoking dope (all done in full view of the school administration & the superintendent). How dare these kids act like graduation was their party, a celebration? Seriously, were they doing drugs? Were they getting into fights? Trying to burn the school down? No? Then why get your panties in a twist over beach balls & a bow & a kiss to your mom? Fucking idiots.

dg

[malaise]

52. Ditto

If the idiots were fucking some more, they might be less uptight.

[realisticphish]

32. I think I would have sat down on the stage until they dragged me away

well, that's a lie, but it's what I wish I would do in that situation

[Raejeanowl]

37. He Earned His Diploma But Forfeited The Presentation

Administrators do need to keep a balance with the flow and intended decorum of the event and the typical disruptive graduation antics. This only sounds a little over the top until too many kids start taking their expanded star turn up there on stage.

The "he said, she said" is the mother's third-handed rendition of the boy's account.

I've watched four graduate. I've seen the way both the kids and the parents act (which explains how some of the kids act).

Denying him the actual diploma or credit for graduating is another matter.

[tsuki]

48. It is not "he said, she said" when only one party is talking.

WMTW tried to contact the district's superintendent and the school's principal, but neither returned the calls by Monday evening.

[DefenseLawyer]

39. I'm a small man in some ways, Bart. A small, petty man.

[4lbs]

44. Ah, there's that Zero Tolerance policy keeping our children safe from air kisses and beach balls.

n/t

[DFW]

47. Un fucking believable

Sounds like something on Stewart might have made up.

Naahh, you can't make up something THAT ridiculous.

[Kaylee]

49. Crazy! I don't care if you do back handsprings across the stage.

You should still get your diploma. A graduation is not a solemn event. It's a celebration! You should have fun.

Sounds like his person is on a severe power trip.

[saltpoint]

50. And why stop at prohibiting kiss-blowing merely at graduation ceremonies,

ladies and gentlemen?

Here is the real motivation for leaving Guantanamo open. ANYONE who blows a kiss in any venue or setting, no matter what, no matter to whom, should be imprisoned without recourse to an attorney at Guantanamo for the remainder of their days on this earth.

No exceptions, zero tolerance.

[Zywiec]

51. My daughter and 25 others graduated from high school on Monday

Each graduate was announced by another student who said a little something personal before "congratulations on your high school diploma"

Then a pianist played a different song for each student as they approached the stage and hugged each other.

At this point the principal presented their diploma and turned their tassel. This continued for over an hour as each student was presented.

It was a very wonderful and emotional evening for everyone.

What a difference the small schools are from the ones with hundreds of graduates...

[GeorgeGist]

54. Graduating from nonsense isn't easy ...

even for a school superintendent.

[shadowknows69]

55. They would have had to withold half my classes' diplomas

We came up with a subtle but twisted scheme. My circle of friends and I bought hundreds of marbles and gave one to each student, and we all handed our principal a marble when he shook our hand and gave us our diploma. The slowly building look of contained fury on his face was priceless. My last name in the M's by the time I got there the box that had held the diplomas had at least 50 marbles in it lol. Also I kissed my diploma and waved to the crowd as I walked off. Fuck these uptight assholes at this school.

[xxqqqzme]

56. jeebus, these people need to lighten up.

It's a fucking graduation from high school FCS. Of course there is going to be some goofing going on. What? they want these kids to sit there like stepford children? Half my son's graduating class had messages written on their mortarboards.

[rainbow4321]

58. The contrasts between my daughter's and her cousin's graduations were startling

Ours (class size 1,300): Cheering, joking, laughing, parents allowed to bring video cameras, kids hamming it up for the jumbo screen, the kids were LED by the final student speaker in the the throwing of their caps---it was the principal who told the grads when she introduced the final speaker "and now she will lead you in the school song and cap throwing". The kids then scattered around the arena room, ran out of the arena on their own after all was said and done, lots of happy, jumping for joy kids as they headed for the door.

The ceremony itself was put on live webcast (our relatives watched it live, texting me with comments during the ceremony), it's being broadcast on a local cable channel all summer and still available as an on-demand video on a local news channel website.


The cousin's ceremony (class size 600): kids were warned/threatened (no diploma/kicked out of ceremony) if they threw their caps, NO parental videoing allowed or the parents would be thrown out (district selling DVD's of the ceremony for $25). Kids were told to line up after the ceremony and walk in straight lines out of the room (marched like little soldiers, not allowed to show any signs of celebrating).


Needless to say, the cousin's mom was shocked when I sent her home video of the rowdy kids and the cap throwing.