High school graduation is supposed to be one of the milestones of your life, one that you earn through four years of hard work and dedication.
Most people get through the ceremony without a hitch, apart from the consuming certainty that you’ll trip on the hem of your robe and do a faceplant in front of basically everyone you know, including but not limited to your parents, your teachers and the cute kid who sat in front of you in your English class. Or maybe that was just me.
The point is, usually your graduation passes in a blur of robes, mortarboards and the palpable relief that you actually got through it.
For one former Chapin High School student, though, this was not the case. The unnamed student was asked to leave the ceremony because his breath smelled like alcohol.
I’m almost 21 and I have yet to drink, mostly because I spend approximately 99 percent of my free time in bed watching shows I’ve already seen on Netflix. I have been promised a night out on my birthday, but until then, I’m okay with broadening my cultural horizons watching “Gossip Girl” and making fun of the phones they had in 2007.
But the fact is, most people my age have had their first drink before the clock chimes midnight on their 21st birthday.
There are 29 states in which a minor can drink alcohol with parental supervision, but South Carolina is not one of them. Here, it’s illegal to consume alcohol under the age of 21, with no exceptions.
The student allegedly admitted to drinking alcohol the night before, but no one saw him consume alcohol at the ceremony, which is why school officials didn’t contact the police. A night of well-earned celebration doesn’t negate the fact that underage drinking is illegal, but is it really fair to oust someone from their graduation ceremony?
The student wasn’t drinking at the ceremony, although it’s true that he did admit to committing a misdemeanor. Still, throwing him out of the ceremony seems a little harsh.
No one is denying that he should be punished, but the state itself will do that with a $100-$200 fine or a prison sentence of up to 30 days. It’s also a requirement to complete an alcohol prevention program approved by the Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services.
The student wasn’t doing anyone any harm when he showed up to his graduation with alcohol on his breath, except maybe to the people who had to sit on either side of him.
He should have been allowed to walk, and punished either by the authorities or his parents as they saw fit.
By throwing him out of graduation, Chapin not only robbed him of his moment, but also took away the memory for his friends and family.