Grumbles Over 'Reserved' Seating at School Graduation

A colorful assembly of beach towels, quilts, and blankets at Waller Stadium on Thursday drew the ire of family members who arrived at the facility around 2:30 p.m. to secure good seats for Mira Costa High School's graduation ceremony.

The commencement was scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. at the stadium, and graduation attendees who knew in advance that the best seats in the house are a hot commodity used heavy-duty tape, towels and blankets to reserve their spot on the bleachers.

Members of one family couldn't believe their eyes—they said that they had no idea seating wouldn't be first come, first served, or at least secured by one member of a group actually sitting in the seats (not a beach blanket.)

A man who had traveled from Lancaster for the ceremony said that the school's administration told him that they had no control over the "do-it-yourself" seating reservations.

"So that means I can bring a tent and set it up?" the man said, clearly unhappy with the limited seating surrounding him. He requested that his name not be printed in this article.

When asked about the battle over seats at graduation, Superintendent Mike Matthews, who is serving his first year at Manhattan Beach Unified School District, told Patch, "This is new to me."

He said that he was aware of concerns about towels and blankets being used to reserve seats at commencement in advance, but "there are a lot of traditions in high schools around stuff like this and we can try to respect those traditions, but do what's best for all people.

"I think every high school does things differently so I don't know what the overall practices are," Matthews said right before preparing for the graduation ceremony. "I'll look today and see how this one works."

Mira Costa Principal Ben Dale was also preparing for graduation Thursday afternoon and not available for comment.

Coming up: Patch will have video of Mira Costa's graduation ceremony.

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