Class President Asks School Board to Change EHS Graduation Date

With all the controversy and debate surrounding high school graduations in Enfield seemingly in the past, the Board of Education figured this would be an easy year.

The ceremonies will again be held on the grounds of Enfield and Fermi High Schools in June. The only thing left for the board was to set firm dates for each graduation.

Based on the number of snow days this year, the last day of high school classes will be Friday, June 24. Accordingly, graduation was scheduled for that evening at Fermi, and the following night at Enfield.

However, a curveball has been thrown the board's way. At Tuesday's meeting, the president of the Enfield High School senior class appealed for a change of date due to a religious conflict.

Patrick Knighton, a Seventh Day Adventist, told the board, "One of the distinctions of my religion is that we observe the Sabbath Saturday as our holy day. On this day, we refrain from business or business-related activities...because of the day of the week, my friends, family and I will not be able to attend this special ceremony. It is clear to see that this is causing me tremendous grief."

The Sabbath Saturday runs from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday, Knighton said.

Knighton and his mother, Vicki Lowe, both told the board that one of the traditions of graduation is for the class president to lead the graduates in moving their tassels from one side of their cap to the other. "As class president, I feel as though it is my responsibility to my class to lead out in this particular action," he said. "This great sense of responsibility has been ingrained in my education at Enfield High School for four years."

Knighton, who is Enfield's alternate student representative on the school board, said his high school experience has taught him how to be a productive and responsible citizen. "However, being responsible and selfless is no easy task, and personally I draw strength from my belief in God; this is why neglecting my obligations to uphold the Sabbath day is inexecutable," he told the board. "So with the utmost respect and compassion to you, I earnestly ask that the Enfield High School graduation be set to an alternative day of the week."

In his comments to the board, Superintendent of Schools John Gallacher said he was unaware of the potential conflict when recommending the date. "If I had known, I would have come to you with a different recommendation," he said.

The board voted to table the agenda item on setting firm dates. Chairman Greg Stokes said he and Gallacher would try to arrange a special meeting in the next few days to address the situation.