High schools move graduation
By JENNIFER KELLEY
Cherry Hill Sun
5/1/2007

Inclement weather and non-air conditioned gyms prompt move to Liacouras Center at Temple University

It was a graduation ceremony that no one in attendance likely ever will forget.

On a muggy June afternoon in 2002, with the seats of Cherry Hill High School West’s outdoor stadium filled to capacity and soon-to-be graduates lining up to march onto the field, a ferocious summer storm parked itself above the proceedings and mercilessly thrashed attendees with driving rain, wind and hail. Eventually, soggy family members and friends of graduates crammed into the un-air-conditioned gymnasium for the event, but rumblings of discontent were heard long after the storm passed.

The next year, Cherry Hill High School East moved its graduation ceremony to the Tweeter Center in Camden on the Waterfront to avoid a similar fate; West was not so lucky. The school opted to hold it in the stadium once again, and – sure enough – the proceedings were interrupted by rain.

Since that time, the Tweeter Center has housed separate graduation ceremonies for both schools, but it has not been the ideal setting, said Susan Manser, president of West’s PTA. Half of the seating is outside, presenting the same weather concerns as the district’s stadium, and it’s difficult to see the graduates unless they’re on stage, she noted. But the biggest problem, she said, was that the Tweeter Center would not reserve the graduation dates for the high schools until mid-April, which threw a monkey wrench in the district’s Project Graduation planning.

After searching far and near for the right venue at the right price that would confirm the dates at the start of the school year, the district settled on Temple University’s Liacouras Center for its 2007 graduations, Manser said.

The cost of the ceremonies for East and West – to be held June 18 and 19, respectively – is $12,000, according to officials, with the parking fee established at $5 per car. Officials note that cost is consistent with that of the Tweeter Center for the 2005-2006 school year ceremony.

A few weeks ago, a group of students, staff and PTA members from both high schools toured the Liacouras Center and came away quite pleased with the venue, Manser reported.

“It’s a very nice, completely indoor facility, and the way it is set up, we’ll be able to see the graduates at all times, which is great for photos,” she said.

Manser also noted that the Liacouras Center staff has been accommodating from the get-go, offering to book the high schools’ graduation dates when PTA members first toured it last spring.

West Principal Joe Meloche said a committee was formed in spring of 2006 to tackle the graduation-locale issue after it was determined the Tweeter Center’s last-minute date confirmations were compromising pre-graduation planning for parents and post-graduation plans for both schools.

The committee looked at venues from Trenton to Atlantic City, said West PTA co-president Carol Matlack, with the factors of size, price and availability knocking out many possibilities.

Though the Liacouras Center was booked after the committee’s recommendation last October, Matlack saw the center for the first time a few weeks ago. She and others who went videotaped the tour and presented it to other PTA members and parents last week.

“We’re hearing that people are excited about it,” she said. “And I think the place is great. There’s lots of room, air-conditioning, and it is handicap accessible, which is great for grandparents.” Matlack also noted that while it’s in another state, “it is closer to Cherry Hill than any other larger venues the committee looked at.”

Meloche said he has fielded questions from parents about how and why the location was chosen, but has heard little criticism.

“In fact,” he noted, “the only people who seem to have come out against the decision are those who don’t have children in the district.”

Speaking of children in the district, those who toured the Liacouras Center are pleased with it as well.

West’s student BOE representative Dan Salvato said students at his school are split on how they feel about the decision to hold graduation on Temple’s campus. Some would simply prefer to graduate at the school they went to, he said. But Salvato, who was among those who toured the center earlier in the month, feels differently.

“I would definitely prefer to graduate from the Liacouras Center than places they’ve held graduations in the past. It’s the safest bet as far as weather concerns ,and it’s more accommodating and larger than the Tweeter Center – which is great for people with big families,” he said.

East’s student board representative Brandon Cohen concurred.

“The 20 other students and I – who all saw the place – loved it,” he told the Sun. “It’s a beautiful facility and a lot bigger than we’re used to.”

Cohen said that while the drive may be a drawback for some, he doesn’t think there will be much resistance – “especially based on the things I’ve heard have happened at graduations past,” he added.