Grad groupings get an A-plus

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This article was published 15/06/2011 (5333 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Finding a date used to be an essential part of grad preparations for most young men and women.

Happy couples danced and exchanged the occasional kiss while their less bold classmates sat far from the dance floor or didn’t both attending the event at all.

Flash forward to the present day and the situation has changed considerably.

In the community of Sanford, located about 12 kilometres southwest of Winni­peg, more and more students are opting to ditch the traditional plus-one pairing to be part of a larger grad group.

Sanford Collegiate used to present grads at convocation ceremonies by having them walk through an archway as couples.

That practice was ditched five years ago at the behest of grad co-ordinator Vivian Brown.

“When I started co-ordinating the grads here at Sanford it was definitely a couples thing,” says Brown, who has been helping organizing the school’s grad for 14 years.

“But I started noticing that some people weren’t coming and parents would phone me and say their sons, in particular, were not going to come because they didn’t have a date and they weren’t going to go through that and be teased.

“The atmosphere is much healthier and much more cohesive now,” she adds. “The kids are happier and they have a lot more fun. They all really get to enjoy the last time they will all be together.”

Brown admits some parents didn’t want to break with tradition initially, but added there have been few complaints from students, teachers or administrators since the change was made. In fact, most students at the school now opt to attend grad as part of a large groups of friends, she says.

Gordon Bell principal Arlene Skull says the trend towards grad groupings began even sooner at her West Broadway school.

“The shift started about 12 to 15 years ago,” she says. “It began when the emphasis shifted away from a date, to going as a group. It is much more welcoming and people dance as groups now.”

Skull adds that attendance at grad ceremonies has increased significantly in the past 15 years as a result of the shift towards a group dynamic.

Sanford students Madison Lashewicz and Alex Burdett plan to follow the lead of an increasing number of their peers. The two will be part of a large group of friends that will attend a grad dinner slated for June 23 at the Victoria Inn on Wellington Avenue.

“We have 30 people going together so we needed to rent two big limos,” Lashewicz, 18, says.

“It will be good to just spend that whole day with friends, because we might not see a lot of these people again,” adds Burdett, 18.

It’s an opinion shared by classmate Connor Hopper, who will be traveling to the ceremony with 18 of his closest friends.

“It’s just going to be great,” Hopper, 17, says.

Sanford drama teacher Monica Reis says the shift in graduation dynamics may be attributable to the social networking phenomenon.

“Kids are just more social now in groups as opposed to having to hang on to a boyfriend or a girlfriend,” Reis says.

“That or it’s because I keep telling them grad is over rated because at my grad, my boyfriend dumped me just before, but I took him anyway and had a terrible time.”

Sanford principal Brad Curtis thinks the changing attitude towards grad is a good thing because it offers students a little more freedom.

“Having a date is limiting for them, especially if that person is from outside of the school,” Curtis said.

“The night can be consumed by making sure your escort is OK, especially if they don’t know anyone there.”

prescott.james@canstarnews.com