Late Post: Graduation Ceremony

whats the difference between a graduation ceremony @ The University of Jordan and a football match between Al Faisaly and Al Wehdat?

surprise, surprise .. they are exactly the same that i can tell that people can't tell the difference, expressing excitement, one way to fit all occasions.

A faculty that has 800 graduates in one academic year where every grad gets to invite five family members, here are some observations from that day being a grad in one, and an attendant in another;

you will find big Cheering banners with the graduate's name and even ones similar to elections campaigns where the whole extended family comes in a bus though the card says " don't bring kids with you [they might get lost] " along with drums and sometimes " a groom's Zaffeh"

in a football match, little boys would be roaming the stadium selling " Yallah CHIBS, Yallah BIBS , Yallah KANARYYY " outside the stadium saying " Yallah Hummos, Yallah Tormos, Yallah Fooool"

in Jordan University, the hot items would be " Zammouur Ballown Zammouur" and "yallah thalj thalj thalj"

before the graduation ceremony begins, if you took a glance at channel 7 stars, you will see big speakers with national songs// Omar Al Abdallat, only one song and only one was about graduation, one! you will find hyper people for no reason, seriously, no reason at all, they have to spray snow flakes on you if you sit near by, clap, scream, dance, start the horns and warm up the drums, lazem il nas ithayjen while their family champ is getting in the line in a steaming room.

then the shouting begins one more time along with mobiles to locate where is everybody as the graduate is walking to where he will be seated, people clap after the national anthem, confessing that i do sometimes. don't ask why.

no one listens, the graduates, the parents, everyone is simply there to wait for their son/daughter's name, make as much noise as they can and go home. how interesting! but what really really got me thinking is the hibernation mode people's minds get in when its a speech. i swear watching that, watching the crowd and listening to the speaker was something i wish i can picture in words. every word the dean said is predictable, there is nothing that is interesting in what he said, lots of stuffed words, i can say along its lines for the coming 20 years.

message conveyed to crowds + students = 0

I was at my sister's graduation ceremony together with a cousin who happened to be my sister's age and graduated from a law school in the U.K last semester, she was amazed at the sight of the stadium, she told me, in a graduation, a horn is not allowed, they clap after a certain number of graduates' names so it would be clear, the ceremony is very formal, the speech addresses the faculty members and appreciates their efforts and speaks to the grads, not the Queen of England!! in a way and in short they respect the institution they spent time learning at.

its a University and not Star Academy and definitely not a football match or some "da2ira 7ukumieh" for mass production!


the purpose of this post is pointing out observations of collective behavior and constructive criticism.