2022’s senior graduation will be held on June 8. 

This year, each student graduating will only be allowed to invite nine guests to the graduation ceremony. 

Principal Trent Derrick feels that nine tickets is a good amount to give to each student due to lack of space. 

“The reason for the limited number of tickets is simply due to the capacity of the venue. This year people seem pleased with the number of tickets they are receiving. Seniors can put their name on a waiting list for extra tickets so that when tickets are made available, they can receive them during the rehearsal ceremony, “ Derrick said.  

However, many students have an issue with this because nine tickets are not enough for students with bigger families. 

One senior, Emma Fuller, will not be able to invite everyone in her family because nine tickets are not enough. 

“It is really hard because I want to invite my family members, but I don’t have enough tickets to give out. It is tough for me to decide who I can invite and which family members I won’t be allowed to invite,” Fuller said. “I have to try to get more tickets from my friends, but it is hard because they all have people they want to give their tickets away to.” 

Not inviting other families members can also be an issue within the family. 

“It can get very awkward. I will not be able to invite both of my grandparents because of the number of tickets we get. I have family members who asked me if they could have a ticket, but I don’t have enough for everyone. I have a really big family, so it is extremely difficult to,” Fuller said.

Lakeland parents are also having difficulty with the limited number of tickets given to each student. 

“One of the most rewarding things about a school graduation is having all your close family members attend. Having family from out of town making the trip to see you graduate is a big deal. Graduation is a huge milestone in someone’s life, so it can be frustrating when you can’t invite the people that have been there to support you along the way,” an anonymous parent mentioned. 

Everyone has different family sizes, making it hard for the school to decide how many tickets each student should receive. 

People with bigger families will have the chance to get more tickets if students turn in the ticket they do not use. 

“These extras are due to some seniors not needing nine tickets, and so they turn them back into the office,” Derrick said. 

Another student, Raine Cramer, agrees that there should be no ticket limit. 

“I think anybody who wants to should be able to come,” Cramer said. 

Graduation is an event that many students also want to attend, so It makes it hard if you cannot go watch your friend graduate if they do not have enough tickets for everyone. 

The number of tickets given to students might change in future years depending on how many students are in the graduating class. 

“I know if our senior class enrollment grows in the future, this number will decrease, which may cause us to look at different options,” Derrick said.