contrasting college graduation ceremonies 50 years ago with today

my grandson graduates from college this week. his grandmother and I will drive more than 200 miles to be there. we'll spend most of the day sitting in the hot sun before and during the ceremony.

exactly 50 years ago I graduated from college. Neither I nor any of my classmates danced on stage.

Graduation Uproar as Black University of Florida Students Say They Were Yanked Offstage During Diploma Ceremony 

I don't condone "rough treatment" of any person unless they threaten the safety of others. at the same time, what is a college to do with students who disrupt a graduation ceremony with their boorish, immature behavior? 

if something like what happened at the university of florida happens at my grandson's graduation, then I won't be a happy camper. 

maybe colleges should mail diplomas to their graduates and dump graduation ceremonies altogether since they've become the showplace for boorish stunts by rude, selfish, and immature graduates. 

image by Micheal Kellen

by the time that my other grandson graduates from college (he's in kindergarten now) college commencements will likely be a thing of the past. why travel 200 miles to sit in the hot sun and watch immature pranksters do their boorish stunts? anyone inclined to see such a thing can watch it live stream from the comfort of their home. besides, graduation ceremonies today are more about the colleges "strutting their stuff" than they are for graduates or their families. they're for faculty and administrative staff to pat themselves on the back and to pitch the need for more money from alumni. More money means more students (supposedly), higher tuition, and higher salaries for faculty and administrative staffs. graduates get it and their families get it too. so, why continue a tradition that has morphed into a shameless infomercial for money-hungry colleges? from the same people who just finished laying out tens of thousands of dollars, and more, to the college?

feel free to boo.