<p>This is not a problem for me since I am my daughter’s only family. No need to save a row. How do others feel? At my D’s HS graduation 4 yr ago, a woman tried to save a whole row of seats in a large theater. Another woman sat down in one of her seats- a wrestling match broke out and the police had to carry out the “seat saver”. At my D’s college grad; long sections of seats have hats, hangers to save them. Any opinions on what is too much?
Janie</p>
<p>Our kid’s college (and high school) had a limit of six tickets in the preferred seating. No way could a family save a whole row…not enough tickets to do so. I have no problem with a family “saving” their six seats together…I would not expect a family to need to split up and sit all over the place simply because some folks walk more quickly than others…or are earlier or later.</p>
<p>Rice ended up letting in people without tickets before those with tickets all got there, even though the ticket holders arrived before general admissions times. Thank goodness my nephew’s girlfriend’s parents saved tickets for my sister-in-law! I think it’s okay to save ticketed spaces within reason. A whole row though seems like an awful lot. Saving one for grandma with the walker definitely okay.</p>
<p>At my daughter’s HS graduation one family saved the entire front row. I thought that was incredibly rude. Your entire extended family does not need to sit in the front row.</p>
<p>I don’t see a problem with a family saving seats. It only makes sense. But a whole row? Umm. I don’t know. But then there are big families…</p>
<p>The only time something like this happened that I saw was at the State Championships one year. Parents from the same high school wanted to sit together and would try to save rows of seats. A few designated folks would get there early to save the entire section by roping them off and taping reserved signs to the areas. There was some unpleasantness once the place started to fill up and there were large sections that were reserved while others were looking for seats. </p>
<p>We also had a bit of that issue with the school play. One intrepid young man saved some front row seats for his family the first night, by copying the director’s method of taping “Reserved for X” on the seats. That was not a problem, but the next night about half the cast did the same thing, and the center aisle seats all had programs on them with RESERVED written on them. There was no scene, but it did not seem quite right to me, especially since a number of the folks did not show up till late. </p>
<p>I really don’t know the answer to this. I hate it when there has to be rules regulating every little thing. I’m very Republican about that. But some people just take things too far if there aren’t any rules. At what point is it too much? </p>
<p>One thing I can say is that by taping a sheet of paper with an official RESERVED FOR X on a seat, it can save some problems over just putting jackets, caps, etc. there. Also if more than a couple of seats are being held, those folks had better get their rears there early to make sure there are no issues. As it gets close to the start of the program and seats are getting scarce, people are not going to take as kindly to someone holding a bunch of seats. </p>
<p>Like Thumper’s schools, we always had limits on how many tickets we could have, though my son got a couple of extra seats for his graduation. But we only saved one seat and that was because my MIL is in a wheelchair and my husband helped my oldest get her situated in the handicapped area where she was permitted to sit with one escort. The rest of us were on tiered benches. I had a large bag that I placed between one of the boys and me, so that my husband would have a space when he joined us. In that scenario, saving “seats” would not have been easy since there were no designated seat places, just bench type seats. I did not see any outstanding situations of seat saving.</p>
<p>At last year’s Vanderbilt graduation, we noticed a nearby couple saving two half-rows of seats, although attendees had been asked either not to save seats at all or to save only a few (can’t remember which). It was a non-issue for our family, as we arrived together. But one woman, with a sleeping toddler in her arms, was clearly too hot and tired to keep hunting for seats and said “Too bad!” when the couple told her the seats in that row were saved. She sat down with a definitive thump and didn’t move again for the next several hours. The couple’s family filled in around her. :D</p>
<p>At dance recitals, one woman used to bring a roll of masking tape with her, make a beeline for the front row when the doors opened, and actually tape it off for her children’s extensive fan base.</p>
<p>I think it’s reasonable to save a few seats for a few minutes only - one of the perks of arriving early. But it’s inconsiderate, I think, for the rest of the party to waltz in at curtain time.</p>
<p>One seat save per seat actually used. So one person can save one seat. Have a similar problem with Seattle Film Festival–I just stopped going.</p>
<p>Our high school graduation comes up in a couple of weeks. We have already received a letter home that any attempt to save seats overnight by putting jackets or anything on them will have the items removed. Access to the graduation tent starts an hour and a half before the actual graduation. I plan to be there two hours ahead of time and will “save” two seats besides the one I’m sitting in. Not excessive, in my book. Saving a whole row, absolutely excessive.</p>
<p>I think saving a seat or 2 is ok but hate the whole row approach. At my D’s college grad, a mom from Indonesia sat next to me. She was also alone. She ask me about all the seats being saved. She said in her country if you want a seat you sit in it!!! I did see some people “tape” off areas and that seems over the top. I guess I also see a difference if you actually claimed the seat yourself and are just walking around as opposed to sending a “scout” in early.
As with cheering, common sense would be nice.</p>
<p>“Another woman sat down in one of her seats- a wrestling match broke out and the police had to carry out the “seat saver”.”</p>
<p>They started physically fighting over seats? Talk about ghetto. I wonder how embarrassed her kid was. What a nut job.</p>
<p>My opinion is that saving seats is a request. If you’re saving seats you’re requesting others not sit in those seats. If possible people should respect these requests, but no one has any right to the seat unless they’re sitting in it.</p>
<p>I agree that saving 1 or 2 seats is fine. A few times, I got to events first so I saved a seat for my husband or vice versa. Saving a whole row seems rude.</p>
<p>Saving a whole row is rude! </p>
<p>Each person should only be able to save a seat or two. Anything more is just ridiculous.</p>
<p>Minnesota “nice” goes out the door when it comes to saving seats! I agree that each warm body that arrives early should only be able to save 1 seat.</p>
<p>We didn’t get any warnings about saving seats, we did however get a note from the Archbishop requesting that the boys refrain from lighting up cigars as they leave the Cathedral!</p>
<p>Qwertykey,
The woman trying to save seats started yelling at the woman that sat in one of the seats. When the woman did not respond, the “saver” tried to pull her out of the seat. When the police came, the “saver” refused to calm down and leave, so she sat on the ground and the police had to pick her up and drag her out. She missed her son’s graduation.</p>
<p>I heard about how the graduaton at our private hs allows a first come thing–which bothers me. Overflow got moved to another building to watch it on a large screen tv…
puulleeease!
I think each kid should get 2 seats (small venue) to be given to whomever in the family
and then the overflow is the rest of the family etc…</p>
<p>I realize people will fly in etc–for the little darlings big day…</p>
<p>however when parents have paid for the tuition for years at this hs…
just because someone goes to stake out seats for a large group–its selfish…</p>
<p>First and foremost, I think each school should put a lot of effort into having policies for seating and policing this. There are very few events in a high school kids/parents time that are more important than graduation.</p>
<p>My son’s school does this. They have strict policies and they enforce them. But… Even with that said, I think they do a below average job.</p>
<p>For a graduating class of 150 kids there were 2,500 seats setup. The 1st 6-7 rows were raffled off as a fundraiser. A large section of very good seats were reserved for the faculty. The remainder of seats are 1st come 1st serve and a single individual is allowed to save up to 12 seats as long as they bring a sign to put on the seats and they stay present.</p>
<p>For a graduation that started at 9:30 am there were a lot of people there at 6:30 am to save seats. Some families paid high school kids to arrive and save the seats.</p>
<p>What you generally saw was the parents who had been through the process before knew how to get decent seats and the parents who were going through graduation for the 1st time ended up in the back. </p>
<p>There has to be a better way.</p>
<p>
If I were the lawgiver, this would be the rule.</p>
<p>I just learned that at S1’s graduation (yikes…next week) that the parents march in on either side of their child and sit with them during the ceremony. I am not sure how I feel about this, but at least I’ll get a good seat. This leaves S2 in charge of getting good seats for the Grandparents.</p>
<p>If there are tickets, then I think people are entitled to save those seats, even if it’s the front row.</p>
<p>Different ways of doing things. At my D1’s graduation, every student had two seats and that was it. We got there early and got on line, had great seats. The horse’s butt next to me got up over twenty times to take pictures. Disrupted the entire graduation. Finally, I refused to let him back in and he had to stand in the back of the auditorium
At my niece’s graduation (small, private school), every student had an entire row, designated by lottery, and each student decorated a banner to reserve their own row. My son (11) is having a concert next week with a solo. I am a super-pushy New Yorker, so I’ve already got this planned out. We’ll be very early on line and have bought one more ticket than we need. My D and I will get into the auditorium and stake out seats, saving one between our two. My husband will come in when possible with my mother who is disabled. They will take my daughter’s seat and the saved one in between and my D will leave (she has to go to work) and, hopefully, I’ll have a great camera angle.</p>