CCHS Graduation

Last evening my exchange student graduated from Central Catholic High School. While at the ceremony I was unfortunate enough to be witness to one of the most ridicules displays of power I have ever witnessed. Honestly, I thought I was going to be in the middle of a riot. So here was the situation. At the graduation an announcement was made that the audience should withhold their cheering and celebrating until all students names were read, well if you have been to more than one gradation you should know that NEVER happens, someone always shouts out. So the names are being read and someone lets out a "Way to go...!!!" The reader stops and waits for the celebrating to stop and then continues. Then another family starts celebrating, this time the reader (I will call her Ezmeralda) stops and give the family the "stink eye", I swear she was cursing them and she said "We have kindly asked you to refrain from celebrating until ALL names have been read ... and I think under her breath "may all of your first born have a third eye and a tail." So the audience gets quite, the names continue to be read and obviously Ezmeralda did not put the Fear of God into someone because oops there it goes, another shout out "That my Boy!! At this point I though Rev. Hartigan was going to blow a clot! First, he is as big at a VW and was turning red. He waddled up to the podium, grabs the mike and bellows "We have kindly asked you to refrain from celebrating until ALL names have been read!! The crowd calms down, the names are being read and damn if someone did not shout out! This time Rev. Hartigan yells "security, man your positions and escort anyone out who does not remain quiet." Oh Central Catholic was asking for problems!! First issue is that 98% of the cheering families were black, 85% of the audience that is complying with the schools request to be silent are white. One white old man yells "stop showing your ignorance," to the celebrators. Second name read after Rev. Hartigan pronouncement and someone had to go and push the envelope "We love you Lakisha"!!! Re. Hartigan waddles up to the mike and yells "security remove them!" Now the audience starts chanting "throw them out, throw them out," I am seriously thinking we are going to have a riot. Security runs up to the top of the Sullivan Center and escorts a family out. I can now sense the tension in the air, I am sitting in disbelief and checking out the nearest exit. Crowd quiets down, name are being read and here we go.. This time the families know they are going to be escorted out so they stand up, give their shout out and proceed to walk out. This happens three or four more time before the reader FINALLY reads the last name. I sat in disbelief, would it taken any longer if CCHS had just allowed the families their few moments of celebrating?