Every year near the end of May, family and graduates all typically cram together into either a sweaty gym or large auditorium to celebrate one common event: graduation. Whether it's a high school or college commemoration, most ceremonies follow the same structure. There's a motivational speaker, a lengthy speech from the principal or president of the school, a special moment honoring the academically elite, the walking and accepting of the diplomas and, of course, the throwing of the caps. After witnessing several graduation ceremonies myself, I've noticed how what was meant to be a traditional and respectful ceremony has now turned into more of a sporting event where graduates and parents will do whatever they can to stand out while the institution itself is often celebrating the accomplishments of the individual rather than the class. This is upsetting to me and is something I would consider to be one issue within academia, as I fear it won't be long until we lose all of our graduation traditions and even change the traditional march song, "Pomp and Circumstance," that is usually played at graduation ceremonies into "Forever" by Chris Brown and graduates start dancing down the aisle in true JK wedding entrancefashion.

The fact of the matter is that if you are a participant in a graduation ceremony, you are expected to behave in a certain way and uphold a dignified presence. If this is what is expected of the event, then why is there so much whooping and hollering at these distinguished ceremonies? Graduation is not meant to be a sporting event and ergo shouldn't be treated as one. I realize that on graduation day there is lot of excitement buzzing around and people often just want to show their support and how proud they are, as they should. Nonetheless, I believe you should show your support in a modest way by leaving your cowbells or noise makers at home so you don't draw attention to yourself and instead focus on what's really important: the accomplishments of the graduating class.

Another common aspect of graduation ceremonies is graduates showcasing their achievements on their robes in different colorful stoles or even with engraved medals or certificates. There is often a mini ceremony for those students that have achieved a certain status or GPA during the graduation ceremony itself. I'm not saying that this idea of "advertising your achievements" is a problem to belittle one's accomplishments, as I do believe it's important to celebrate your hard work–however, I don't see why it needs to be recognized during graduation. I know many, if not most, schools hold special banquets or separate award ceremonies specifically to honor those achievements whether they are academic or related to another accomplishment and that is why I don't understand why you need to celebrate the same thing twice.

You may disagree with me, but I think it's important to recognize this trend, to notice what graduation ceremonies are turning into and to start a conversation about it. At the end of the day, if you are participating in a graduation ceremony, you are just one of the many graduates that has accomplished the same thing as your peers... graduating. This is something you should be proud of but it is also something that the person to your left and right has also accomplished and should be equally proud of. Therefore, I believe you should be treated as equals in a respectful environment that is conducive to everyone feeling apart of a unit as it truly is one of the only times your entire class is all together at once experiencing the same thing. This doesn't happen very often, and it is for that reason that I feel like we should treasure it and preserve the ceremony as it used to be.