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<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge) Collin Murphy   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • WASL a barrier for would-be Mariner grad 6/13/08   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Friday, June 13, 2008 Missed deadline stopped Lakewood student from walking at graduation By Kaitlin Manry, Herald Writer LAKEWOOD -- Collin Murphy mailed a dozen announcements to let friends and family know he would be graduating from Lakewood High School Thursday night. His grandma flew in from New York to watch him receive his diploma and toss his maroon mortarboard in the air. She was disappointed. As punishment for turning in his senior project late, Murphy was not allowed to participate in commencement. "I can see punishing me for this, but graduation night is something for your parents -- and I don't think it's fair to take away a lifetime of memories from my parents and from me," Murphy said. After shadowing a manager at the Gleneagle Golf Course restaurant in Arlington for 20 hours, Murphy turned in a report detailing the experience in mid-May -- a week after it was due. Because he turned the report in late, school officials decided not to let Murphy walk at graduation. He won't give his oral presentation that accompanies the report until next week. For the first time, all Wash­ington seniors this year must complete a culminating project to graduate. The state has no standards for the project, and each school district is handling the requirement differently, said state education spokesman Nathan Olson. Lakewood students knew that if they didn't finish their reports by May 9, they wouldn't be able to walk at graduation, superintendent Larry Francois said. The deadline was featured on paperwork and the school's Web site, and an automated voice message was even sent to families reminding students of the upcoming deadline. A few other students who missed the deadline due to "extenuating circumstances," such as illness or family deaths, were able to turn in their work late and graduate with their class. Murphy also appealed, seeking similar treatment, but school officials denied his request because he lacked extenuating circumstances, Francois said. To allow Murphy to participate would be unfair to the 120 Lakewood graduates who turned their work in on time, Francois said. Assuming Murphy passes his senior presentation next week, he still will receive a diploma. "The graduation ceremony is just that, it's a ceremony," Francois said. "It's a privilege students earn. The (consequence) for any students who don't meet expectations is generally removal of a privilege -- and in this case the privilege is the graduation ceremony." Seniors in Stanwood, Snohomish, Lake Stevens and Marysville could turn in their senior projects the day of graduation and still walk, according to staff at those districts. At Marysville-Pilchuck High School, students who didn't give their senior presentations on the scheduled day were able to make up their reports at a different time, principal Tracy Suchan Toothaker said. In Lakewood, Patricia Murphy's eyes grow red and teary when she thinks about her son missing his graduation ceremony. She's been imagining her youngest son's graduation since he started kindergarten in Lakewood 13 years ago. She acknowledged that it's mostly his fault, but she believes the punishment is too harsh. "Ever since they're in kindergarten, you start looking forward to that day," said Murphy, a stay-at-home mom. "It's one of the milestones of their life. It's one of the things you look forward to seeing in your kids' life, like marriage and all those really important ones. It's hard to beat that feeling, as a parent, watching your child accomplish something like that." Murphy has a 2.475 grade point average and plans to study business and culinary arts at Skagit Valley College in the fall. He dreams of opening his own bar and grill. He said he struggled to schedule his senior project around high school baseball games and his part-time job washing golf carts and doing maintenance work at the Arlington golf course. On Thursday evening, Murphy joined his mom in the stands in the Lakewood High School gym and watched his childhood friends in maroon robes receive their diplomas. "When my brother graduated, I thought, 'That's so cool. In four years, that's going to be me,' " Murphy said.

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