GALESBURG, Illinois (AP) -- Caisha Gayles graduated with honors last month, but she is still waiting for her diploma. The reason: the whoops of joy from the audience as she crossed the stage. Gayles was one of five students denied diplomas from the lone public high school in Galesburg after enthusiastic friends or family members cheered for them during commencement. About a month before the May 27 ceremony, Galesburg High students and their parents had to sign a contract promising to act in dignified way. Violators were warned they could be denied their diplomas and barred from the after-graduation party. Many schools across the country ask spectators to hold applause and cheers until the end of graduation. But few of them enforce the policy with what some in Galesburg say are strong-arm tactics. "It was like one of the worst days of my life," said Gayles, who had a 3.4 grade-point average and officially graduated, but does not have the keepsake diploma to hang on her wall. "You walk across the stage and then you can't get your diploma because of other people cheering for you. It was devastating, actually." School officials in Galesburg, a working-class town of 34,000 that is still reeling from the 2004 shutdown of a 1,600-employee refrigerator factory, said the get-tough policy followed a 2005 commencement where hoots, hollers and even air horns drowned out much of the ceremony and nearly touched off fights in the audience when the unruly were asked to quiet down. "Lots of parents complained that they could not hear their own child's name called," said Joel Estes, Galesburg's assistant superintendent. "And I think that led us to saying we have to do something about this to restore some dignity and honor to the ceremony so that everyone can appreciate it and enjoy it." In Indianapolis, public school officials this year started kicking out parents and relatives who cheer. At one school, the superintendent interrupted last month's graduation to order police to remove a woman from the gymnasium. "It's an important, solemn occasion. There's plenty of time for celebration before and after," said Clarke Campbell, president of the Indianapolis school board. In Galesburg, the issue has taken on added controversy with accusations that the students were targeted because of their race: four are black and one is Hispanic. Parents say cheers also erupted for white students, and none of them was denied a diploma. Principal Tom Chiles said administrators who monitored the more than 2,000-seat auditorium reported only disruptions they considered "significant," and all turned in the same five names. "Race had absolutely nothing to do with it whatsoever," Chiles said. "It is the amount of disruption at the time of the incident." School officials said they will hear students and parents out if they appeal. Meanwhile, the school said the five students can still get their diplomas by completing eight hours of public service work, answering phones, sorting books or doing other chores for the district, situated about 150 miles southwest of Chicago. Gayles' mother said she plans to fight the school board -- in court if necessary -- to get her daughter's diploma. The noise "was like three seconds. It was like, 'Yay,' and that was it," Carolyn Gayles said. American Civil Liberties Union spokesman Edward Yohnka said Galesburg's policy raises no red flags as long as it is enforced equitably. "It's probably well within the school's ability to control the decorum at an event like this," he said. Another student who was denied her diploma, Nadia Trent, said she will probably let the school keep it if her appeals fail. "It's not fair. Somebody could not like me and just decide to yell to get me in trouble. I can't control everyone, just the ones I gave tickets to," Trent said. lmfao... this school really has it's priorities messed up... or *cough* is just racist as fuck
thats some messed up shit man, i thought graduating was a joyful event, they treat it as if it's a funeral or something lol, imagine graduating at that school
Wow, that's really screwed up. The graduate's family cheers, but the graduate has to do the work to get the diploma? I don't understand why the graduates get punished when they didn't even do anything...
wot that was hrash on them having diplomas denied is really sad yeh maybe the parent were rude but still u can tdeny their diplomas, give them like a three month penalty of a fine i'll beat the crap out of that principle if he denied my diploma
that's totally screwed up... why punish the student when it's the crowd that's making noise? like nadia said, students could be targeted by the haters... so unfair to the students... and sounds really racists too with the whites getting their diplomas
They are just toooo strict. Graduation is the time of happiness, we should have the right to express how we feel.
I saw this on the news.. I didnt watch the whole segment, so I didnt understand the whole story.. That's absolutely ridiculous, as stated before, they couldn't control what the crowd did, but in this situation what can the students/parents do really? Take the principal to court over a diploma?..
^yeah sue them for millions for giving the victims a trauma by denying their diploma's! That'll teach them! As far we know about this story, the school never told the students or the audience about this 'no cheering' rule, so how can it be they're allowed to punish these kids? And it's just crazy if they punish the 5 students doing 8 hours of service work. I would say next years students should boycot the diploma ceremony and get it from the schooladministration or something. (unless it isn't allowed but what if everyone is feeling too "sick" to show up?) I mean, I personally won't even feel happy if I would get my diploma out of the hands of a f*cking racist.
^That's true, they can.. Emotional trauma, discrimination, etc. They very well could get more than their diplomas back...
seriously though thats kind of like a child commits a crime and therefore they would have to arrest the parents too or vice versa. Yeah its seriously racist too, they treat the white people's interuption as "minor" and the other races as "major" what the fuck is that, what they consider major is their fucking racist opinion.
