Reached by phone Monday, Koehler, who was not graduating Saturday, explained that he chose to throw toilet paper because of its resemblance to streamers, which he thought would bring a celebratory feel to the ceremony. Also, he said the toilet paper represented students wiping their backsides on "all of the misconstrued requirements of institutionalized education in our country."
That last quote is real money, in my book... there is so much bullshit in higher education that needs to be scrubbed out- and I expect the next ten years is going to see a lot of evolution and change come to higher ed.
Special bonus at the link: video!!
One thing is for sure: graduation does need to be lightened up a bit. I attended the Graduate College ceremony on Saturday and it had all the appeal of a funeral wake. The music prior to the ceremony was dreary and depressing. Pomp and Circumstance was dull and unappealing. Everything was so 'big stick in the butt' pompous and solemn- and no doubt, a little bit of decorum is called for- a lot of people had worked hard for their pieces of paper and deserve to have the ceremony taken seriously. But it's also a celebration- and to that end, I have a small suggestion to change the tone a bit:
Bring on the Pep Band.
Seriously- they can get the crowd pumped up, have a little bit of fun and they can play Pomp and Circumstance when the ceremony is ready to get going. The Pep Band... and better speakers! That should do the trick.
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