Is $7,000.00 worth it?  I don’t think so.  Would you pay $7,000.00 for 2 hours of air conditioning? 

    Would you pay $7,000.00 for 2 hours of air conditioning?  This is the debate going on at my school for 2008 graduation.  In years past, we have held graduation at the Deseret Peak Complex in Tooele.  This year they want to have graduation at the Huntsman Center at the University of Utah.  Deseret Peak is a county complex in Tooele that is used for recreational purposes.

     Last year Matt had just graduated high school and was celebrating the night of his life at the graduation party sponsored by Tooele High School.  It was the best party ever with games, food, a live band and prizes.  Every 45 minutes they raffled off prized from gift cards and I-Pods all the way up to the grand prize-a 50-inch plasma television.  As the party was going on, the grads were having a blast.  In the early morning hours the food started dwindling and so did the prizes.  As the party was coming to a close the final prize was ready to be raffled away.  They called the number and Matt won the best prize ever, the 50-inch plasma television. 

     Unfortunately this will never happen for the class of 2008 because the money formerly spent on the graduation night party, food and prizes is now going to be spent on renting the Huntsman Center for $7,000.00.  While the Huntsman Center is nice, I don’t think it is worth the money.  The Huntsman Center does have more space as well as air conditioning, but the space at Deseret Peak is sufficient to meet our needs.  One negative to the Huntsman Center is that everyone will have to travel a lot farther.  With gas prices hitting all time highs at nearly $4.00 a gallon travel is extremely expensive.  So, having everyone from Tooele drive all the way to the Huntsman Center instead of a 5-10 minute drive to Deseret Peak would seem more economical and more logical.  All of this extra money as well could contribute to the senior graduation party.  The only thing the Huntsman Center has to offer is air conditioning and this is the only reason graduation is being held there.

     So, why spend $7,000.00 for air conditioning?  Having graduation at the Huntsman Center would cost more and require more travel.  This is why Tooele High School’s class of 2008 should have graduation at Deseret Peak Complex.