rivers_bend

Yeah, they always do gift bags now, at least down in Tampa. They're pretty cheap, generic "class of..." kinds of favors generally.

I'm not a fan either, but this was during the beginning of Bush the 2nd's abstinence-only kick in a county where the older folks tend to be irrationally conservative... as was the case with the administration at my high school, which caused a lot of tensions between the administration and the student body from what I remember. The students tended to be some of the most liberal you can imagine because it's a performing and visual arts magnet high school. For example, the admins blocked our attempts at forming a GSA for three years by intimidating teachers against sponsoring the club, but when we finally got one, there were more than 50 students at the first meeting, and the second year, they had to move the club to the cafeteria because it was the only place with enough room to accommodate all the students who wanted to be involved.

Yeah, I'm sure you're right, but she handled herself very well. She was even on a radio show where one of the radio personality guys was giving her a hard time for not "leading by example" and for "encouraging the inappropriate behavior of children" (I found the transcript online)... not seeming to understand that most high school seniors either already are or are very close to being 18 years old by the time they graduate, so therefore not children under US law, but whatever... and she didn't even get flustered. So that speaks well of her character.