Blind adherence to some perceived rule has tarnished several graduations around the state, leaving students and parents feeling as if they’re mere accessories to the ceremony, decorations to highlight the success of strict conformity.

Three cases with starkly different details have received public attention. In each case, people have been excluded, at least initially, from graduation activities on questionable grounds.

In one example, common sense and a motivated, organized community response forced a bad decision to be overturned. Joseph Violette II, of Clinton, died Jan. 10 in a car crash. A senior at Lawrence High School in Fairfield, Violette had earned enough credits to graduate. Hoping to honor her son’s achievement, Kathy Tucker, Violette’s mother, sought permission for her daughter to accept his diploma during graduation. Citing school policy, officials initially denied the request. Violette’s classmates reacted. They gathered signatures on a petition, they wrote letters to the editor and they engaged the community in a public debate about the decision. Their efforts paid off, and SAD 49 reversed its earlier decision.

Matt Worcester, a senior at Leavitt Area High School in Turner, brought his trouble on himself. Accused by teachers of showing up for a senior-class field trip to Funtown USA while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Worcester cursed at them. Teachers have an obligation to enforce a zero-tolerance policy for drugs and alcohol, but it’s unclear whether the allegations against Worcester were true. The student says he offered to take a breath-analysis test and swears he wasn’t drinking. After being kicked off the bus heading to the field trip, Worcester and another teen got into a car and drove to Funtown on their own. According to an incident report, the teen was told if he went to Funtown, he wouldn’t be allowed to participate in graduation activities. The school was true to its word.

We have no way to determine if Worcester was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. But if the field-trip chaperones felt strongly enough to kick him off the trip and to threaten his participation in graduation, we wonder why they allowed him to get into the car and drive all the way to Saco. The school’s not talking.

Finally, there’s the case of Joshua Hutchinson, perhaps the most egregious of them all.

Hutchinson is a good kid, editor of the school newspaper and popular among his classmates. Two months ago, his clinically diagnosed depression worsened, and he fell behind in school. To continue his studies while recovering, he transferred from Leavitt Area High School to River Valley Alternative Education where he could receive 1-on-1 instruction. Because he didn’t finish the school year at LAHS, the school says he can’t participate in graduation with his classmates. We dare say if the boy were suffering from cancer instead of mental illness, we wouldn’t be having this discussion.

Graduation should be a day of celebration meant to honor the accomplishments of students, who have worked hard to earn diplomas and a don a mortarboard. We know of too many good principals, teachers and school administrators to believe this type of thing is the norm. Maybe that’s why these three cases stick out.

The goal for schools should be toward inclusion in graduation events, not shutting people out. After 13 years of education, it should be a rare occurrence when students are denied their day in the spotlight. In three cases, and perhaps others, the day has turned into a last chance to impose discipline or enforce some arbitrary rule before students escape.