The Tribune

ON FRIDAY evening, the Anglican Central Education Authority drew a line in the sand.

No graduation ceremony, no senior prom, because certain “impudent” acts by the 2013 graduating class were not of a standard expected of a St John’s graduate.

We sympathise with those students who might not have participated in the immature and tasteless behaviour, but for them this will be one of many lessons that they will have to learn in life. Very often, the good have to suffer for the not so good.

Today when we go to the airport we accept for our own security that we have to take our shoes and jackets off and have our bags thoroughly searched before we can board an aircraft. Some passengers are even subjected to the indignity of random body searches. These searches further inconvenience us because now we have to allow at least two to three hours pre-flight time to get through security. No one plans to carry an explosive on board an aircraft. But there have been a few who have and have even succeeded in bringing down a few aircraft with tragic results. And so, although most citizens are not terrorists, we all have been inconvenienced because of the few who are.

Of course, this is an extreme example, but students in this class, although it might seem unfair, will have to suffer to let young people of this community know that bad behaviour has gone too far, and at least St John’s College is not going to lower its standards to accommodate it.

St John’s is a religious school and the worship of God and the celebration of Mass should be the centre of their cultural upbringing. What kind of citizens are being raised in this country whose conscience would permit them to show such disrespect for their Creator and expect society to laugh? During the celebration of a special mass for the graduating class these young men and women obviously thought it funny to set their cell phones ringing. The Anglican Archbishop and his board did not take kindly to such disrespect.

But, according to our reporter, the straw that broke the camel’s back was a video circulated on social media and youtube showing students dancing “in a hyper-sexual manner”.

Such lewd behaviour by young Bahamians who one day hope to lead this country is too distasteful for comment.

But what we found interesting was the complaint of one of the graduating class on social media. She described herself as having worked very hard from kindergarten — always on the honour roll, exceptionally bright, proud representative of the school at sporting events and even chosen as deputy head girl. With all these credits, we hope she didn’t let herself down at the end by participating with the few who apparently are not taking their future seriously. She then made a telling comment:

“THEY (the Anglican Education Authority) have not only hurt us as a graduating class of 2013, a class who act as a family would, but THEY have hurt our own families. THEY have wounded us and them and pretty much said to each and everyone of us and our parents. ‘Thanks for the money and too bad!’… and it is WRONG.”

They have hurt us? She must mean that the students have hurt themselves.

Reminds us of an incident we experienced at The Tribune several years ago.

A young man asked for an appointment to discuss a matter with us. He had appeared in court that day and had been convicted of a crime — it has been so long ago that we don’t recall what he had done — nor was he the only one over the years to make such a request using the same line of argument.

Anyway, he wanted to know how much it would cost him to have us not publish his case. Bribery was insult number one. But what really took the cake was his argument that if The Tribune published the story, The Tribune would be responsible for embarrassing his family and costing him his job. He admitted his guilt.

We had to gently explain to him that The Tribune was not there with him when he decided to break the law. Nor had it any part in risking embarrassment to his family or causing his employer to fire him.

These were the consequences that he should have considered before he broke the law. And so, when the article was published if it embarrassed his family and cost him his job, then he had only himself to blame for jeopardising his future. The Tribune had nothing to do with it.

And so, it was not the Anglican Central Education Authority that desecrated the mass, gyrated to music in a lewd fashion, or let down the standards of the school. It was the students themselves. Their final act after so many years of study was to let the side down.

Unfortunately, young people, you have learned an important lesson the hard way. Think before you leap — if you leap in the wrong direction your landing could be rough.

This lesson might hurt now, but later in life you might look back on it as the most important lesson learned at school — particularly if before making decisions you seriously think about the consequences.

If society — like the Anglican Authority — would demand more accountability — from our government down — the Bahamas might not be in the dire straits it finds itself in today.