The Senior class this year is the largest graduating class to come through Buffalo High School. However, the gym space where the graduation ceremony is held is still the same size. Seniors are getting ready for the moment they receive their diploma but they only receive six tickets for their friends and family to attend the ceremony.
Students with large families have a hard time with this limited number of tickets that they receive, whereas other seniors feel as though they have the perfect amount. This limitation leaves the seniors with large families trying to get tickets from others in order to have their loved ones attend.
“I would like to bring my mom, my dad, and my stepdad. I also have 8 siblings, and I would also love for my grandparents, cousins, or aunts and uncles to be able to come, but that doesn’t really work out when they give you six tickets,” said Senior Ella Hanson. “[The number of tickets] definitely causes conflict because I don’t want my siblings that have moved out of the house to think that they are less of a sibling to me.”
There is also a raffle where students can win another ticket; however, the school is not able to hand out many extra tickets because of the limited seating of the gym. There have been possible other options suggested, such as hosting the ceremony in a different location or handing out tickets based on family size. Neither of those options is likely.
“Certain kids get picked out of a raffle to get more tickets, so that can be hard when some kids get more tickets and you are still stuck with six,” Senior Grace Moran said, “It would be cool if they determined the number of tickets according to family size. I would only get like two though, because I’m an only child, but it would be cool because then kids with big families could have more options and wouldn’t have to choose.”
Administration has talked about the topic of graduation day a lot, and they have also discussed the different possibilities of seating and the number of tickets each student receives. They have also added a live broadcast in the air-conditioned performing arts center, which has helped out with seating as well. They try to make the graduation go as smooth as possible, and their goal is to help maximize the space and make it an enjoyable day for everyone.
“We did talk last year knowing that this is going to be a big class, but we felt like we could be able to accommodate everybody in the gymnasium,” Assistant principal Nick Guida said. “We are going to try and get as many seats in there as we possibly can.”
Graduation is held in the main gym on June 7 at 7:00 pm.
Photo by Alayna Mills
