Ferris Parents Send Graduates Off In Grand Style

My dear departing members of the Ferris High School senior class.

As I mingle among you in the wee hours of graduation night, eating omelets and sipping espresso at 3 a.m., a few words of wisdom come to mind:

It’s probably downhill from here.

Don’t expect life to get much sweeter than an evening of big cash giveaways and a storeroom full of cool merchandise to buy with play money and all the catered food you can eat and music and games and excitement and…

In short, don’t expect another $25,000 party.

Graduating at my alma mater is a cross between a New Year’s Eve blowout and the Home Shopping Network.

As a member of the Ferris Class of ‘69, I am marveling at how the Class of ‘96 makes the passage from high school to life without a homeroom teacher.

My classmates and I got gypped. There was no such thing as a Senior Overnighter when we were the nation’s bright-faced hope for the future.

All I remember is going through commencement and having to get my girlfriend home by midnight. Then I drove the family Dodge back to my place and walked around the neighborhood wondering if a student deferment was really going to keep my frightened fanny out of Vietnam.

Baby, how times have changed.

Some years ago, parents wanting to protect their kids from unsupervised graduation boozefests began holding drug- and alcohol-free parties. A number of Spokane schools turned this into an annual tradition, but I’d be surprised if any of them exceed the lavish scale of Ferris.

The party literally takes over the student union building at Spokane Falls Community College. In the course of the evening, graduates spend their time engaging in activities that include faux sumo wrestling, casino gambling, basketball, miniature golf, karaoke, racing mini-cars, bowling, pool and pinball.

The fake money won from the above events can be used to buy lava lamps, etc., at a store stocked with $10,000 worth of gear. Drawings are held for $12,000 in cash prizes. Other giveaways include microwave ovens, bicycles, televisions and stereos.

This isn’t a party, it’s a game show.

Security is airtight. Only graduates may attend and no one is allowed in after 11 p.m. Anyone who leaves is not welcomed back. All backpacks and bags are searched by guards.

“This is really an expression of parents caring for their kids,” says Fred King, the chairman of this year’s overnighter, held Friday. “And it’s great to see teenagers not being embarrassed to be here with their parents.” Of the 303 students who bought tickets for the bash, 295 showed up - nearly all of the graduating class.

Planning for this celebration began 15 months ago. Committees raised $25,000 through fund-raisers and solicitations. Only parents of graduating seniors are allowed to work on an overnighter. Not a dime of public money is used.

Like any gathering, however, there are bound to be problems. At 12:30 a.m., the leaders held an emergency meeting when it was discovered they had $1,500 more than they expected.

“You think we should give it away in hundreds or fifties?” asked a parent. A vote was taken. The fifties won.

The graduates, who have heard only whispers about these overnighters, are amazed at the party’s magnitude. “This girl came up to me last year and told me she won $500,” says King’s son, Matt, 18. “I said, ‘Uh, uh, there’s no way.’ Now I see what she meant.”

“It’s really amazing that parents have gone to all this trouble,” adds K.C. Richards, 18. “What a neat way to end the year.”

You can say that again. If you see a bald, rather ancient-looking senior at next year’s Ferris graduation, please, don’t give me away.

, DataTimes