Orville W. Taylor

On the former plantation, there was so much white that the blacks were outnumbered. During the University of the West Indies' (UWI) graduation on Saturday, November 10, there was a sea of vacant white chairs half-way through the ceremony. True, I sat on the slightly padded seats for several hours and suffered from 'cheek fatigue' and could empathise with the graduands, who were lined up like their ancestors two centuries ago. After all, for at least an hour, they had been pre-assembled in suits, gown and ill-fitting spikes that many of them were unaccustomed to.

Then, they were made to sit under a luxuriant tent while their former lecturers streamed in on a scarlet wave of gowns, hurriedly borrowed for the occasion. After taking their seats on chairs less comfortable than the 'butt pressers' provided for the academic processions, they were further required to endure the awards of honorary degrees to people they don't know. After this, there were speeches and the reading out of the names of hundreds of persons.

Lengthy Graduation

Honestly speaking, it was too long. If one's name was a 'late' name like Williams and Young, then one was guaranteed to be pasted to his/her seat until the end. Many waited, unmoved even by the call of mother nature and neither hell nor low water would make them rise.

Most patient of all officials is the chancellor, who has to attend all of the ceremonies on all campuses and shake all hands, including those of the fidgety students who passed the four hours mining nose gold. However, the most stressed had to have been the dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences. Like Jesus or an Old Testament patriarch, he stood in the wilderness of graduates with great patience, reading all 700-plus names like St. Peter at the pearly gates. His voice left, but he did not.

The biblical imagery is not coincidental because just too many persons were missing when the roll was called up yonder.

I have taken my anti-hypocrisy vaccine. Therefore, one cannot expect me to turn a blind eye to indiscipline or any other social pathology, even if it is in my neck of the woods. What should have been the event of the year, or for some, the celebration of their greatest fulfilment, became a showpiece of societal indiscipline.

A number of students had vocal pockets of 'cheerers' who had absolutely no sense of decorum. Poor Chancellor Sir George Alleyne had to remind them, in the middle of the programme, that it was a formal function and the loose and uncontrolled shouting and screaming was unacceptable. But that is the UWI, the premiere academic institution in the region. U may not have known better, but WI should have.

Over the past few weeks, including just Thursday at Lacovia High School in St. Elizabeth, I have found much hope in the potential of our youngsters, their parents and well wishers. When asked by the chairperson of the prize-giving ceremony to desist from applauding until the awardees had received their prizes, all obeyed. No one behaved as if artistes Elephant Man, Beenie Man or Bounty Killer were on stage. Furthermore, not one of them got up and hung around outside, choosing to peer inside or simply ignore the incomplete formalities.

Close to one third of the students receiving Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degrees at the UWI's graduation ceremony were not in their designated seats. At the risk of offending the Pakistani presidential contender/prisoner, that was simply 'Bhutto', with or without the Benz.

A big deal

A graduation is supposed to be a big thing. Especially for those of us born without any wealth or social prestige, it is our apotheosis, our process of 'smadification.' The inconvenience of being uncomfortable, hungry, thirsty or simply bored by men and women speaking in my second language - English is but a minor act of 'sufferation.' If as a poor people pickney, one could bear 21 years of 'sufferation' and three or four years of attending university with half-empty stomachs and no bus fare, then the additional five hours of resilience could do no harm.

UWI's graduations are understandably too long. Truly, if one has not stashed a tough cracker or jackass corn biscuit in his/her pocket, then it can be difficult to bear. However, bear it, one must.

A graduation is a rite of passage. Rites of passage are ceremonies endured by young adults who are about to be initiated into adulthood. If this were in Papua New Guinea or one of the other Melanesian or South Pacific countries, then it would be a thousand small incisions on the back, or bullet ants stinging the hands.

For most of the proud teachers like myself, parents, relatives and friends, it is a small pain. Furthermore, they are well-organised spectacles. One could only imagine the chagrin of the super debonair Senior Assistant Registrar Cordel Nelson, who worked his pants off making the ceremony the most efficient and colourful in the country. It is a hell of a task to coordinate the event, especially since it lasts two day. It must have been deeply painful and humiliating to see so few persons remaining until the end. Empty spaces at the front cannot be the result he hoped for.

Nevertheless, what happened at U is not WI fault. It is the reflection of a larger social problem of an undisciplined society peopled by young persons with no sense of patience. Addicted to the quick fix of instant gratification, it is easier to jump ship after only a few weeks at the new job because the pay is too low.

Hopefully, we were embarrassed into waking up and doing better next time. U know WI can.

Dr. Orville Taylor is a senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work at University of the West Indies, Mona.