It is that time of year again; where all of the lovely seniors dawn their navy and maroon caps and gowns and line up for that wonderful march up the stage, waiting to be handed that little piece of paper saying the last four years of their lives were worth it.

However, there are some things that need to be addressed before kids can run screaming “we’re done”. The Precedent sat down with principal Dan Serrano to address some of the in’s and out’s of this years graduation ceremony.

Paige Coakley: There is some speculation about the parking issue. How are we dealing with the lack of space?

Dan Serrano: “Well, we are in the process of negotiating with the City of Gilbert, for the soccer facility right up the road  here. Because we run shuttles, and we’re going to run shuttles from Basha [High School] and Weinberg [Elementary]. We’re also going to live stream it in the auditorium, so people, who the heat is too much, they can go into the auditorium. We’ve been trying to get the that lot, right across the street, to get permission to use that, and that’s not going well. We’re not going to run a bus through the Flipside lot because, you have to get a lot of paperwork and they don’t work well with us.  So if I don’t run a bus through there then people can park there, because it’s public property, without any repercussions on the school.

PC: I know it’s difficult to kind of arrange seating for everyone, so how are we doing seats, and how many are we do per kid?

DS: It’s first come first serve. The district has bought some portable bleachers. So, that’s out there. I’m thinking about maybe purchasing some. It’s going to be tight, always is.

PC: With the Ceremony being streamed to the auditorium, will there be an outside streaming for people who cannot attend the school?

DS: You know,that’s something will have to ask [Brian] Bernier. We did last year (stream the event online for people out of state or unable to attend can still witness the ceremony). I think now, they (TV Production) are much more equipped to do that. We’re going to try to do that.

PC: A new trend for students is to decorate their [graduation] Caps, is that something you’re going to allow?

DS: Not here.

PC: Is there a reason for that?

DS: It can be messy. Then you have to police what’s on there, and to me graduation, and I’ve done a lot of them, I want it to be formal. If you’ve ever been to a graduation where they decorate their hats it’s kind of messy.

PC: Do you have any advice as an advisor who’s been doing this graduation ceremony for a while- the kind of do’s and don’ts of Graduation?

DS: We’ll have meeting right before graduation….Everyone is assigned a classroom with two teachers, and when you walk into the classroom you don’t have your cap and gown on so we can make sure (you’re in dress codes). We’re pretty tight with the ceremony. Theres about 3-5 teachers in each row….If (students) want to disrupt it, you have to remember there about 10,000 people there. If you want to put attention on yourself, we won’t tolerate people messing around. And I’ve done a lot of graduations as a principal, and an assistant principal. This will be my 22nd. I’ve never had to escort a student out. it’s all about the process of how we talk to the students and how we walk in.