Admittedly, my experiences with graduation ceremonies in the North were over nearly 40 years ago when my husband graduated from college in December 1967.

The ceremonies were dignified and every graduate’s name could distinctly be heard announced. After the ceremony there was applause from the audience, but participating in and watching graduations was a great experience.

We settled in the South. Now, I’m not picking on Southerners because I’m just as Southern now as I was Northern. I’ve lived here longer than I did in the North.

I first became aware of the Southern tradition (at least in this area) of people shouting and hooting and cheering loudly when someone they knew walked across the stage, thereby making it impossible to hear the name of the next graduate, who also had friends and family who acted the same way when my son graduated from high school. I mean they let out loud whoops.

When my son-in-law and then my daughter graduated from college I thought it would be a dignified event. I was wrong and it was actually worse because people from all over a large auditorium were making loud and embarrassing noises while these young people picked up their diplomas representing at least four years of hard work.

Today, I was pleased to read this article published in the local paper and telling of an event in my town.

Ryan Zimmerman knew that if he cheered for his younger brother during Fort Mill, S.C., High School’s graduation ceremony last weekend, he’d be asked to leave.

It was a price he decided to pay.

But the 18-year-old Fort Mill grad never thought it would land him behind bars.

Zimmerman, Chris Coghill, 20, of Fort Mill, and Chandler Roberts, 20, of Charlotte were arrested on suspicion of public disorderly conduct during the ceremony at Winthrop Coliseum on Saturday, according to a Rock Hill police report. According to the report, the three men stood and cheered during the ceremony, then walked to the concourse and yelled again, causing a disruption.

The trio say they were unfairly targeted. Police say the group was being disruptive.

[...]

Roberts, a 2005 Fort Mill High graduate, said the three friends discussed whether they should stay quiet. “We were deciding the entire time and when we saw other people cheered and nothing happened to them we figured that meant it was OK for us to do it,” Roberts said.

Zimmerman, Coghill and Roberts were released Saturday evening on $255 bond. They will appear in court June 19.

Lt. Jerry Waldrop of the Rock Hill Police Department said officers followed department policies. He said the school district hired police to provide security, and unruly individuals were subject to charges. The report is clear, he said, that the suspects were disruptive by calling out multiple times.

“They’re lucky they didn’t get charged with the high court offense of disturbing schools,” Waldrop said. “They really haven’t got a complaint.”

Fort Mill school board Chairwoman Martha Kinard said the graduation policy isn’t designed to discourage support, but to make sure each graduate receives equal recognition.

“When someone yells out, the next person in line, their family can’t hear,” Kinard said. “It’s a matter of respect.”

I hope this sets an example for future graduations in this area.