The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
LHS commencement moves
Class of 2019 ceremonies will be at Wolstein Center at Cleveland State
The Lorain High School Class of 2019 will have a field trip to Cleveland for its graduation ceremony. Lorain High’s commencement will take place May 21 at the Wolstein Center Arena of Cleveland State University.
The venue was announced this week in the “Titan Touchpoints” electronic newsletter sent from CEO David Hardy Jr.
The information was included in a question-and-answer section of the newsletter.
A question was asked about why Lorain City Schools needed to change.
“In the past, the graduation ceremony was held at George Daniel Field,” the explanation said. “When the high schools were combined, it became abundantly clear that there was not nearly enough space for all those who wished to attend.
“Holding the event outside and then having to quickly switch it inside was a logistical nightmare. Many families had to watch their graduates on TV
screens in the cafeteria or auditorium.
“We wanted a space that was large enough to accommodate all the special people in our graduates’ lives.
It added a parenthetical encouragement: “Bring them all!”
Other local high schools utilize offsite public arenas to hold their ceremonies, according to the Lorain Schools’ explanation.
“In addition to the ample space, increased comfort and better lighting and sound, it adds to the specialness and importance of the ceremony,” the newsletter said.
Space likely won’t be a problem at the arena.
The Wolstein Center “is a $55 million, state-of-art, full service, multi-purpose facility that is capable of seating up to 15,000 people for special events,” according to its website.
The Lorain City Schools board of education did not get any notice of the change, said board Vice President Tony Dimacchia.
“I’ve spoken to quite a few parents that aren’t happy about it,” Dimacchia said. “I think it’s a bad idea.”
It appeared this would make the first graduation, at least in recent memory, to be held outside the city for Lorain High School, said Jim Smith, a former school
board member who also is a local historian.
“I can’t state this as a fact,” Smith said. “To my knowledge, there’s never been a graduation of Lorain High School, or any Lorain high school, that’s not taken place in Lorain.
“I think George Daniel Field is plenty big enough. The problem comes when there’s bad weather.”
Dimacchia and Smith mentioned alternative venues in the city and county.
It was unclear if Lorain County Community College
or the Lorain Palace Theater would be large enough to accommodate the crowd.
LCCC traditionally holds its commencement on-site in May.
Last year was a record graduating class, with 2,018 students earning various degrees, according to the LCCC website.
The college’s report on its May 2018 commencement did not include an overall attendance figure, but said 650 graduates were present for the ceremony May 12.
Accounting for graduates’
family and friends, along with college faculty and staff, the overall figure must have been larger.
The Palace Theater’s website lists its seating capacity at 1,477, although that may change depending on the scaling of the event.
Smith noted the newsletter did not state if Lorain City Schools would transport the graduating seniors or if they would be responsible for their own transportation.
Some Lorain families already have trouble making it
to school events within the city due to lack of transportation, Dimacchia said.
Instead of having the ceremony five minutes away from home for Lorain families, moving it to a Cleveland venue on a weeknight will make it difficult for families to get there, even for those who have cars, he said.
“We’ve seen a pattern of poor decision-making from this administration,” Dimacchia said. “This is just another example of that.”
Lorain Schools hopes to find local businesses and charities to assist with transportation for graduates and families that need it.
Local businesses or organizations that would like to help organize and fund transportation options for families should contact school district Communications Coordinator Sarah Egan-Reeves at 440-8304057 or segan-reeves@loraincsd.org.
Last year, George Daniel Field was getting a new artificial playing surface donated by the Cleveland Browns, so commencement was moved to Lorain High.
Graduating scholars each received six tickets for family and friends to join them in the Lorain High gymnasium, Hardy said at the time.
The school auditorium served as an overflow space for 600 to 700 people, with the events inside the gym telecast there.
All told, there was capacity for upwards of 3,000 people to celebrate the seniors, Hardy said at the time.
In June 2017, the Lorain High commencement was planned at George Daniel Field, but the school administration moved the event indoors due to potential for bad weather.
The change prompted about 30 students to meet at George Daniel Field and protest, arguing the decision to switch venues was made too early.
However, it later rained in Lorain the day of commencement 2017 as the district graduated 432 students.