For decades, graduation has been held on the Carmel High School football field, providing plenty of room for guests. But the 2014 graduation is slated to take place in the under-construction amphitheater. Besides the intended graduation spot still under construction till God knows when, it seems this year’s graduation has been put on the backburner.
In a previous news brief, senior Jacob Waters reported that Lopez’s plan for graduation is to “hold [graduation] in the wedge between the library and the [football] field.”
The “wedge” is the incomplete amphitheater that has already faced several delays in completion.
“There have been some delays with product,” Principal Rick Lopez said last week in regard to materials for the incomplete amphitheater. “It has had multiple completion dates.”
Lopez hopes that the amphitheater will be completed in early spring, yet there has been no set completion date given. This disappointing news raises concerns as to whether the class of 2014 will have a set graduation location.
Having an unclear location is worrisome for seniors like me. If the amphitheater is not finished, what are we supposed to do? The football field will be out of commission, and the theater can barely hold two grade levels.
Besides possibly holding graduation on a “wedge” being highly disappointing, especially when graduation is such an anticipated and momentous occasion for students and parents, it would be highly ineffective. Including the class of 2014 and Carmel Unified staff, the amount of attendees at graduation can range from 500 to 1,000, and a small amphitheater won’t hold everybody.
Let’s face it, not all students will attend, but some younger students will attend graduation to support graduating friends. Now factor in the other people who attend, like parents, grandparents, siblings and a number of other family members. In total, it’s a crowd of hundreds, and from what I see an amphitheater will not sustain the attendance. Hopefully I’m wrong.
It feels like the 2014 graduation ceremony has been a second thought, especially with Operation Padre taking away the football field for the interim. While it is great the field will be of more use to all teams, graduation is a huge deal and shouldn’t be such an afterthought.
Let’s hope the amphitheater gets finished in time and goes beyond expectations of being an uncomfortably small arena for such an important event.
-Caitlin Chappell
