Several family members were asked to leave a high school graduation ceremony for cheering, and now face criminal charges for “disturbing the peace.”
Warrants have been issued for the arrest of three out of the four of the audience members who were cheering at the Senatobia High School graduation ceremony on May 21. Those issued warrants could each face up to $500 in fines and up to six months in jail.
The nearby Northwest Mississippi Community College hosted the ceremony. College officials said in a statement that they were not involved in issuing or serving the warrants.
“College officials and campus police were unaware until after the ceremony that school officials intended to press criminal charges,” the statement read. “The college will be conducting a review of its hosting of high school graduations.”
Senatobia School District Superintendent Jay Foster was the one who pressed charges. Foster had asked the crowd in advance to hold their applause until the end of the event.
“We didn’t tell them they couldn’t cheer, we just asked them to wait until the end so everyone has an opportunity to hear their graduate’s name,” Foster told the Clarion-Ledger.
Ursula Miller was one of the audience members who received a warrant for arrest.
“I can understand they can escort me out of the graduation,” Miller said. “But to say they’re going to put me in jail for it. What else are they allowed to do?”
Foster defended his decision to issue the warrants.
“My point is not to have somebody have to pay money,” he said. “But I want them to know there are consequences for their behavior, and I want us to have a dignified service.”
