It’s graduation, not a ballgame

When seeing food and drinks being served in the aisles of Selland Arena during the Fresno City College commencement ceremony, I didn’t know how to react. It didn’t seem appropriate for this event, but no one else seemed to be bothered by it as I was.

I imagine people were actually quite glad to have snacks easily available to them. Many even got up during the ceremony to go get hot dogs and nachos. But it was a little distracting to hear “Popcorn!” and “Lemonade!” from the vendors every so often and trying to pass money and snacks for others in the middle of the rows, while trying to listen to the speakers.

This is something I expect at a sports event, but not at something as formal as a graduation ceremony. It would even be acceptable before the ceremony, but not during. Just another way to make an extra buck, I suppose.

This story was originally published May 24, 2016 at 3:20 PM with the headline "It’s graduation, not a ballgame."