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Cheering Mom Arrested At Graduation - Right Or Wrong

I believe this mother


  • Total voters
    22
Based on her description of the sequence of events, the arrest and charge sounds excessive but that relies on trusting her description is entirely accurate and honest. The official statement suggests otherwise (of course) and there is no independent commentary (which is something of a failure by the journalists).

Given the information about the event her own description of how she reacted sounds inappropriate, though not necessarily worthy of arrest in the first instance. I'm inclined to believe there was more to it that we're not being told though.
 
I've little doubt the mother is downplaying her outburst.

I've been to a graduation where family members in the audience have ruined the atmosphere with their outbursts and "cheering".

I'm a little hesitant to think being arrested is appropriate, but a decent fine sounds perfectly acceptable.

I could be swayed though. Some people carry things way too far.
 
Given the information about the event her own description of how she reacted sounds inappropriate, though not necessarily worthy of arrest in the first instance. I'm inclined to believe there was more to it that we're not being told though.

I agree, the arrest was probably over the top, but removing her from the auditorium probably wasn't. This is becoming more and more of an issue these days. We've got one student here in MA who is not getting his diploma because his "supporters" made a major scene when he was announced. He is now being forced to do 20 hours of community service before the school will give him his diploma.

I graduated from high school 20 years ago. In fact my 20th reunion is at the end of July. I vividly remember the notice going out to students and parents, and being printed in the paper notifying attendees at the graduation ceremony that excessive noise or celebrations which restrict other's ability to hear names being announced would be grounds for removal from the event. Polite clapping and cheering was acceptable but anything more than that was not allowed. The only individual who had an issue was one of my classmates whe decided to make an ass out of himself immediately upon being handed his diploma.
 
I agree, the arrest was probably over the top, but removing her from the auditorium probably wasn't. This is becoming more and more of an issue these days.

Holy hell..... I agree with Tigger ....... :shock:
 
Why are these simply cerimonial events held in large public places? Could it be so that they may be celebrated? If all you are allowed to do is snap a picture and clap your hands for a few seconds then why bother to go at all? For many people this is the end of the educational line for their child, that child's greatest educational achievement for life and truely believe it warrants more than a brief hand clap. There is also a cultural difference, not mentioned as of yet, about sitting quietly and listening, rather than a more active participation during a public presentation, such as political rally, church sermon or this graduation cerimony. Would this "woohooing" behavior lengthen the time between the names called? Probabaly, yet by cutting back on some of the boring speaches that all are forced to endure, more time could be allotted to what the crowd is truely came for, to celebrate the educational accomplishment of their children/relatives/friends as their name is proudly announced to all present.
 
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Evidently.

Is this really an arrest-worthy offense?

Sure is.

Was the mother out of line?

Knowing the type of person she appears to be, it was more then a simple yell, a lot more, so yes I would say she was likely out of line.

Did she deserve to be arrested?

Yup, it happens.

Are you in favor of this kind of police action?

I am.

Do you support the arrest of this mother?

I do.
 
Why are these simply cerimonial events held in large public places? Could it be so that they may be celebrated? If all you are allowed to do is snap a picture and clap your hands for a few seconds then why bother to go at all?
That was an option. The nature of the event was made perfectly clear and the vast majority of the audience apparently content to follow. If this woman was either unwilling or psychologically incapable of having the little decorum and self-control to hold the whooping and hollering for a more suitable time and place, maybe she shouldn't have gone.
 
I believe this lady got what she deserved.

I hate people who cheer excessively. I've been to many high school marching band shows and have wished the police would have arrested some of the parents in the stands. There is one local high school who's parents are really over the top. Here is an example of their actions. Now, keep in mind that this is the band's first performance. A first performance is typically quite bad. Later, they'll be better. But these parents act like this group was perfect. They were so loud, that they drowned out the musicians at times.

 
I went to 7 friggin' graduation ceremonies in the last few weeks. SEVEN. And let me tell you, there were tons of parents/families/friends there to support graduates, but who ended up being rude, inconsiderate, disorderly, and way too disruptive. At a Masters commencement at SMU, the family in front of us (probably 15-20 people) stood up and screamed, engaged those stupid foghorns, and popped confetti bombs....for probably 2 straight minutes....for one graduate. Meanwhile, the dean is still calling out names of other graduates; too bad we couldn't hear any of them.

One person can scream and shout loud enough to be a rude disruption to a ceremony like this...it doesn't take a group of 15-20. It isn't courteous or necessary to act like a childish tool to show support for your graduating family member. Pride is fantastic, but respect is even better. If this lady was loud and disruptive enough to draw attention from the police (of the large number of attendees only she and two others were arrested) then she was probably loud and disruptive enough to cause others to miss the announcement of their graduate.
 
This arrest was absolutely absurd. I voted other on this poll because I believe the most that should've happened was her being escorted out of the venue. Let me get this right...we're arresting people for expressing joy? She was arrested for excessive joy that was interpreted as disorderly conduct.

This woman did not deserve to be arrested at all, or even fined. She should've been sent out the door and that is it. You don't arrest someone for this kind of action.
 
This arrest was absolutely absurd. I voted other on this poll because I believe the most that should've happened was her being escorted out of the venue. Let me get this right...we're arresting people for expressing joy? She was arrested for excessive joy that was interpreted as disorderly conduct.

This woman did not deserve to be arrested at all, or even fined. She should've been sent out the door and that is it. You don't arrest someone for this kind of action.

She was arrested for disturbing the peace or disorderly conduct. It was made quite clear to people ahead of time that excessive celebrations were to be refrained from. I have to believe this was so that people could be assured of hearing the names of their graduate instead of the ruckus caused by the family and friends of other grads.

There were 133 students in my graduating class in 1992. My last name starts with the letters "Ma..." If the 10-12 people who were there to see me graduate in a fairly small auditorium had caused a scene, they could well have been in the names starting with P or R before people could hear again. Would that have really been fair to everyone who was there to see someone whose name was between mine and there?
 
She was arrested for disturbing the peace or disorderly conduct. It was made quite clear to people ahead of time that excessive celebrations were to be refrained from. I have to believe this was so that people could be assured of hearing the names of their graduate instead of the ruckus caused by the family and friends of other grads.

There were 133 students in my graduating class in 1992. My last name starts with the letters "Ma..." If the 10-12 people who were there to see me graduate in a fairly small auditorium had caused a scene, they could well have been in the names starting with P or R before people could hear again. Would that have really been fair to everyone who was there to see someone whose name was between mine and there?

I stand by what I say. She should have been escorted out, but not arrested. The arrest is absolutely absurd. People were going nuts at my graduation from High School and College. This isn't a banquet, funeral, or wedding...this is a celebration of achievement and parents are going to cheer regardless. I understand that they gave warnings, but arrests are still too much. You escort the people out of wherever they are and that is it!
 
She certainly should have been escorted out. If I read the article correctly, she not only cheered and screamed while the names of other kids were being read, she also left her seat and tried to make her way to the main floor where the graduates were sitting. That's when the police stopped her.

At first I thought arrest was ridiculous. On second thought, after having attended too many graduations where a few rude people have stepped all over the rest of the class with their outlandish behavior, I support it. She needs a lesson in manners.
 
Arrest? IDK.

Kicked out? Yeah.

Show some respect for the other people lady.
 
not letting people cheer at graduation is stupid. i'm assuming it's partially because some people have more family cheering for them than others.

at the very most, i could see escorting someone out who is going bat**** crazy. but arresting anyone for it is beyond ridiculous.
 
Without knowing exactly what sort of cheering she was doing, it's hard for me know whether it was appropriate or not. A little bit of cheering would be perfectly acceptable. If it went on for a long time and prevented other parents from being able to hear their kids' graduation announcements, she probably should have been asked to leave. The arrest seems excessive regardless.
 
We've got one student here in MA who is not getting his diploma because his "supporters" made a major scene when he was announced. He is now being forced to do 20 hours of community service before the school will give him his diploma.

This seems really unfair to me. Why should he have to do the community service when he wasn't the one causing the problem?
 
This is really idiotic. BFD. So a mom was over the top proud of her childs graduation. Geeezus...its getting ridiculous. Ive been to non trad university graduations where some parents are over the top in their celebration. It MIGHT just mean that that particular graduate is doing something extraordinary where that family is concerned. It might mean they have overcome some tremendous odds. So...the graduation takes a few minutes longer. Tragic.
 
Having fun has been against the law for quite some time now. It's a ****ing shame. I got popped for playing my guitar too loud, with a Mariachi band, in Fairield California, in 1987. $5 Bens for the lawyer, case dismissed.

This woman was experiencing elation is in her own way. Can't have that!
 
Having fun has been against the law for quite some time now. It's a ****ing shame. I got popped for playing my guitar too loud, with a Mariachi band, in Fairield California, in 1987. $5 Bens for the lawyer, case dismissed.

This woman was experiencing elation is in her own way. Can't have that!

This is really idiotic. BFD. So a mom was over the top proud of her childs graduation. Geeezus...its getting ridiculous. Ive been to non trad university graduations where some parents are over the top in their celebration. It MIGHT just mean that that particular graduate is doing something extraordinary where that family is concerned. It might mean they have overcome some tremendous odds. So...the graduation takes a few minutes longer. Tragic.

Some graduating classes have hundreds of students. If you couldn't hear the name of your child announced because the previous child's family was making a ruckus would you be angry?

If you want to cheer your child's accomplishments and celebrate to your hearts content - throw a graduation party for them.

A very small contingent of people should not ruin a ceremony for the larger masses.
 
now come on, this woman wasn't hurting anybody. I can't believe she got arrested. That's outrageous - she can't have been the only one cheering. People are too obssessed with laws and discipline these days and I just think everyone really needs to ease up.
 
Anal thing to do

Butt, it sounds like lyrics to a country song...

chorus
They're locking your momma up for cheering
They're locking your momma up for cheering
They're locking your momma up for cheering
They're locking your momma up for cheering ....

refrain
and I was like that isn't right
because other people were cheering
and they didn't lock them up tight...
 
I imagine that other more sedate people were upset by her over the top behavior.... a lttle bit of self control pleazzzzze? ;)

The police action seems correct to me.
 
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