This story warms the cockles of my heart, as it has happened in our adopted hometown.

When school officials in Rock Hill, South Carolina, tell graduation ceremony crowds to hold their applause until the end, they mean it — Police arrested seven people after they were accused of loud cheering during the ceremonies.

Six people at Fort Mill High School’s graduation were charged Saturday and a seventh at the graduation for York Comprehensive High School was charged Friday with disorderly conduct, authorities said. Police said the seven yelled after students’ names were called.

“I just thought they were going to escort me out,” Jonathan Orr told The Herald of Rock Hill. “I had no idea they were going to put handcuffs on me and take me to jail.”

Orr, 21, spent two hours in jail after he was arrested when he yelled for his cousin at York’s commencement at the Winthrop University Coliseum.

Rock Hill police began patrolling commencements several years ago at the request of school districts who complained of increasing disruption. Those attending graduations are told they can be prosecuted for bad behavior and letters are sent home with students, said Rock Hill police spokesman Lt. Jerry Waldrop.

All the cases, except for one that includes a resisting arrest charge, will be handled in city court and are punishable by a maximum of 30 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

When my children graduated from Rock Hill High School in the late 80’s and early 90’s the entire auditorium was disrupted by hoots, hollers, noise makers and people getting up to leave as soon as their student’s name had been announced and he or she walked across the stage.

It was so bad you could barely hear your own child’s name unless the two or three ahead of him or her didn’t have a loud, unruly contingent of friends and family there. Make no mistake: it was adults as well as people around the age of the graduates.

I was appalled by the noise as where I grew up graduation was something that was quiet and respectful of every graduate. It was just a given.

To compound the hurt of not hearing our childrens’ names as they crossed the stage and got their diplomas, we found that college graduation was just as bad, only bigger.

Thank you to the school districts for making this ruling and for the RHPD for enforcing it. I can assure you I won’t be selected to be on the city jury for any of these people as I have a prejudice against what they did.