We are in the middle of the cap-and-gown selfie season, when dorky high school and college graduates hold up the line to snap a quick picture with the person handing them the diploma. The relatively new custom drags out an already long and boring commencement ceremony. It’s harmless otherwise.
But a university in Malaysia didn’t see it that way when it suspended one snap-happy graduate for two years with one official saying, “Let them call me cruel, but I’d rather let a child die than lose our customs.”
According to a report in TODAY, an English-language newspaper in Singapore, Muhammed Hasrul Haris Mohd Radzi apologized and said he was just excited when he took the picture of himself with the school’s chancellor during a recent commencement ceremony at Universiti Teknologi Mara Lendu in Malacca.
Photo: Kent State University
This is the second time the university has taken action against a student violating the school’s graduation selfie ban, according to the report in TODAY. The photo went viral and while some saw the photo as innocent self-indulgence many others viewed it as disrespectful.
If you think Malaysians are overly touchy about photograph during ceremonies, American colleges are also trying to stop the disruption to decorum. Some schools, like Bryan University and the University of South Florida, have instituted strict bans while others, like Kent State, have created “selfie zones” that allow for social media snapping without interruption to the ceremony.
Muhammed Hasrul, 21, said he was unaware of the ban on selfies at his school.
“I thought there was no harm in recording this moment after working hard for two years in getting my diploma,” the graduate told Malay Mail Online. “I thought it would be appropriate for a photography student like me to make a symbolic gesture.”
UiTM’s Vice-Chancellor Tan Sri Prof Dr Sahol Hamid Abu Bakar, the guy who told local media he’d rather see a child die then let a student take a selfie, said students are briefed before entering the hall and told not to take pictures on stage.
“His actions humiliated UiTM,” Abu Bakar said. “He should have respected the ceremony and the lectures. This is an important custom that is under the spotlight.”
None of the reports explain how the university suspends someone who has already received their diploma.
