PHS students feel that graduation is not sentimental, and unfair compared to various schools around. 

“Graduation is supposed to be sentimental and successfully leaving a huge part of your life behind, but it doesn’t feel sentimental or give the ability for students to express themselves one last time,” said Junior Ella Buff. Piper High School is under a contract with Sporting KC for graduation, but once it expires, graduation will be moved to the new Piper home field.

“I’m not disappointed that graduation is held at Sporting KC because it’s a professional environment and more room for families, but Piper is our home and would feel more personalized and more nostalgic,” said Junior Carlos Renteria.  Because of the nature of the venue, Sporting KC  imposes a lot of restrictions, the most controversial being the decoration of graduation caps. 

“I don’t like that, I think it represents us and everyone has a different journey through highschool and  it expresses the way they feel and their final way through highschool” said  Renteria.

On the other hand, Junior Brady Johnson has a different perspective. “I personally wouldn’t [decorate my cap], but I think other people would like to do that.” 

Another point of controversy is the color gowns seniors wear. Women used to wear white and men would wear purple, but recently it has been changed to only purple. 

“I think [different gowns] adds more color and makes people pop more,” said Johnson. 

Graduating senior Ella Buff looks forward to future seniors having graduation on their home field. 

“I think that Sporting KC is a great opportunity to have graduation, but will be underwhelming as [that location] means nothing to the graduates.”