Allen High School's Graduation BBQ

[keribeth818]

Originally Posted by biafra4life

Sorry but that's absolute madness. Having this outdoors in JUNE??? Allen ISD must have money burning a hole in their pockets because I see the future in which some grandparent has heatstroke sitting in 100 degree temps for hours. Stupidity of the highest order. But hey, I'm sure you as a resident of that city will gladly pony up the funds when the time comes. So to each his/her own.

I will not have to worry about it as I don't intend my kids to go to Allen HS. I'm not an Allen cheerleader by any means. I really don't care where they have graduation or how much they spend as we will be long gone by then. I agree it's way too hot for an outdoor graduation but not knowing the intricacies of planning an event of that size, try to believe given all options it was the best one.

I am just done with the same posters scouring the news for anything possibly negative to post about Allen. I mean, really. Wouldn't that time be better served posting the great things going on in your own city? There's plenty.

As an aside, I stood outside in the same heat for an hour and a half to watch my kindergartener graduate. That's insanity.

[ChristieP]

Originally Posted by BayTexan

Good point. But better to have less family members attend than to lose family members to heatstroke!

I think you'd be surprised that many graduates and their families would disagree. For those with large families, it is often very important that everyone get to attend. I've seen TV news reports when graduation has to be held in a small venue (such as an auditorium or gym) and the graduates are limited to 2 family members. The families are just distraught that grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles, etc. cannot all attend.

For a school like Allen, it would have made a lot more send to hold it early in the morning on Saturday when the weather would be cooler. This is Texas, and in June, it's usually pretty hot by late afternoon, so planning well in advance to hold an outdoor graduation at the hottest part of the day is just not smart.

[jennifw]

hmmm.... schools have been doing this for years. A long long time ago, I walked across the stage at a football stadium in Houston, in June. Two of my nieces just graduated this year - on a football field in Central Texas. I do agree that a morning ceremony makes more sense but schools all over are holding their ceremonies outside. For a school like Allen, there just aren't many indoor venues.

[Katana49]

When I graduated from Plano back in the 90's (before Plano West) my graduating class was ~1900 students IIRC. It was held at SMU's Moody Coliseum. That's larger than Allen's graduating class size now. There are places that can hold enough people, having it outside is nuts.

[TheOverdog]

I don't really get the complaints- it's generally hot when football season starts and they are holding games and these same people are attending. Move it back to dusk and outdoors is perfectly fine.

[mSooner]

Use common sense before scheduling it, look for temperature/rain/hail/blizzard/earthquake/tornado predictions and find a clear day morning or evening. If that's difficult then use your 25% higher income to rent a venue. One day few hour rental isn't going to kill anyone but heatstroke or tornado might. I can bet this was done to convince residents to agree for some bigger debt item.

Graduation dates are set months or years in advance. You cant just switch it willy nilly based on the weather report a week before!

[veuvegirl]

It wasn’t that bad honestly. The great thing, it allows everyone to attend.

[Waterdragon8212]

Originally Posted by Katana49

When I graduated from Plano back in the 90's (before Plano West) my graduating class was ~1900 students IIRC. It was held at SMU's Moody Coliseum. That's larger than Allen's graduating class size now. There are places that can hold enough people, having it outside is nuts.

Ours was at Moody as well - with around 1000 graduates, they had no limit on how many family members could attend...

[UnfairPark]

Moody hall, Ford Center and Dallas Convention Center type places can accomodate most schools and if extended family is too big, they can watch live stream and party with graduate when he comes back. Times have changed, schools have to worry about safety and security as well.