Pomp, pageantry, and photojournalism - photographing high school graduations

PSA Journal, May, 1997 by Thomas J. Moorhead

In the world of photojournalism there are two kinds of news. scheduled and nonscheduled. Nonscheduled news involves the kinds of things that happen in the blink of an eye, generally when there are no cameras in the vicinity to record such an event. A commuter was recently killed on an area highway when a tire flew off a passing truck and smashed into her car. The best that our big daily paper could do was to have an illustration since there were no photographers available. The vehicular crashes that take place in this county are too numerous to mention. House fires happen every once in a while.

In June 1996 the weekly shopper for which I do much of my photographic work, decided to distance itself from nonscheduled news events. "No more fires, no more car crashes," was the edict from the managing editor, himself a volunteer firefighter in another community.

Trying to cover crashes and fires has become increasingly difficult. The continuing and growing paranoia of the local police and fire departments is a major reason that many working news people, both professionals and free-lancers (such as myself) routinely find themselves being denied access to crash sites and fire scenes, usually by the police, and in any confrontation with the police, the police always win.

Scheduled news, on the other hand, is much easier, as far as gaining access. Sports, on a local or regional level, is a major example of this genre. Recently, I shot a presentation of donations to a local fund-raiser, a flea market, and a borough council meeting in which a mayor presented plaques to retiring policemen. These are examples of scheduled news, events that are known to the editors in advance, and the space for photos will be guaranteed when the pages are made up.

High school events are planned and scheduled, months in advance. School calendars announce that the school year begins on such-and-such date, state football playoffs are to be held on certain dates, and graduation will be held on a particular day, provided that Mother Nature cooperates.

The problem is, Mother Nature often does not cooperate. The last two winters have played havoc with school schedules. The 1994-95 winter featured snow on the ground from late November to early April from a number of small snowstorms, but very cold temperatures turned the snow into ice, and it stayed for months. The 1995-96 winter, at least in New Jersey, was not as bad. We didn't have the ice, but we did have the snow, 14 snowstorms, particularly a blizzard on January 7 that dumped 26 to 30 inches on us. That was fun, a statewide emergency. No one (including the media) was allowed to drive for two days, everything closed. A week later it warmed up. The snow melted, then another storm hit us with 8 to 10 inches. This process repeated itself until the end of March. It was the snowiest winter on record in this state (76 inches).

High schools in New Jersey operate under the assumption that there will be a certain number of days on which the school will be closed due to snow (usually 3); and if snow wipes out more than those days, the school year will be lengthened to accommodate the days required. For 1995-96, graduations were pushed back several days at almost every public high school. I have never photographed graduations at parochial high schools, for the simple reason that they usually have their big event on days that conflict with the county baseball or softball tournaments, in early June. In many cases, players have finished tournament games, then rushed home to get changed for their graduations.

A graduation is usually the last "big bash" of the school year that is generally accessible to most people. There are, of course, junior or senior proms, but these are held in a country club, and only those who belong there are allowed to attend. Most graduations are held outdoors on a football field, although many have been held indoors due to a temperamental Mother Nature. Provisions are always made for the possibility that the event will take place indoors, in case of rain, or if it only looks like rain.

When my senior class's turn came, we practiced both indoors and outdoors, so that the school administration would be prepared. As it happened, it rained, and we graduated indoors, the first class from our school to do so. During good weather most graduations will be outdoors, particularly with large classes. Large regional high schools have had graduating classes of 400 or more, although recent enrollment has declined. In 1996 Emerson only graduated 67 and the event was held in the gym on a relatively nice evening. In years past, it would have been outside.

Most schools have the grads wear the traditional caps and gowns. Some of the fancier schools have the kids wear more formal attire such as white jackets and evening gowns.

The basic format, depending on the school, is generally the same. The soon-to-be grads march in, usually to Sir Edward Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance #1" or Mendelssohn's "War March of the Priests," and sit in a designated area, sometimes facing the audience, usually facing a raised platform. Following several speeches from the platform often read by the students, diplomas are presented, and the graduates march off the field, usually to the same music, ready to face life on the outside. This is pomp and pageantry on a grand scale, with a cast of several hundred, if not thousands, both on the field and in the bleachers.