The debate over indoor versus outdoor graduations has been a big controversy in the Ipswich community for many years. The complaints about the IHS indoor graduations are endless, but no one ever thinks about the possible complaints that would be compiled if the graduation was to be moved outside. Despite whether the graduation is held indoor or outdoor, there would never be an end to the bad things that are said about it. This year could be the first year that Ipswich High School could potentially hold the senior graduation outdoors.

Indoor graduations are known in Ipswich High School as being packed with hundreds of people all crammed into the lower gymnasium. All attendees complain of the heat in the room during the hours of the ceremony. The lower gym gets packed with the IHS band, the graduating class, six members of each family of the graduating class, school committee members, and teachers. The fact that each child is limited to bringing six members of their family means that they have to leave out members of the family that they wanted to invite. In a recent interview with Mr. Ames, he stated that, “Every year there is a seating issue in the lower gym,” and that people can never invite the amount of people they want. Very few people ever think of the pros of indoor graduations.

For example, if the weather is iffy, there is no worries about people getting wet and needing to move all of the chairs indoor after spending hours setting them up outside. 
Outdoor graduations are known (stereotypically) to be beautiful on a nice and sunny day. Each senior is known to be allowed to invite as many members of their family as they’d like.

In the Ipswich community, for many years, there has been the concern about where an outdoor graduation would be held. However, this year, things could be different. The concern of ripping up the football field has always been one of the biggest issues, but the football field, regardless of an outdoor graduation, is being ripped up this summer. This year could be the year to kick off the tradition of outdoor graduations. Since the field is being ripped up this summer, the concern of ruining the field with hundreds of leg chairs is eliminated.

The biggest concern with an outdoor graduation is the weather. This is not something anyone can change. With graduation being scheduled months in advance, if rain is predicted, there is nothing anyone can do besides move the graduation indoors. There is also the concern about the audio system and everyone outside being able to hear. With the new speakers at the stadium, this concern is now eliminated.

The concern over intense heat from the sun outside is another concern. If seats are set up in the shed and (donated) tents are set up along the track, this concern can also be eliminated. With all the concerns being minimized, outside graduation is finally a potentially debatable topic. There are many complaints over graduations in all school districts. In the Ipswich community, the biggest complaint is the heat. With almost all of the concerns, apart from the weather, eliminated, this year could be the first outdoor graduation in years.