Mom Arrested After Cheering Too Loudly At Daughter's Graduation

Saturday night's South Florence High School graduation ceremony was marred by an event that required police action. The South Carolina school's problem was not a streaker on the stage or a crazed person with a gun. Rather, it was an overzealous mom.

Shannon Cooper was handcuffed and taken to jail for cheering too loudly at her daughter Iesha's (eye-e-shuh) high school commencement ceremony. That's right, Ms. Cooper was taken away by the police and held for several hours. Because she was too proud and too loud. (Officially, she was charged with "disorderly conduct.")

Apparently, the police did warn attendees that "excessive cheering" would not be tolerated. Ms. Cooper maintains that she was no louder than other parents or families.

Local television station WPDE spoke with mother and daughter after fiasco:

As bizarre as it may seem, this strange incident is not an isolated one. Over-cheering rules have been enforced in other states.

The NY Daily News reports that a high school student -- Anthony Cornist -- in Ohio was actually denied his diploma last week after his family was deemed to be a bit too exuberant during the commencement:

It wasn’t jail but community service that student Anthony Cornist was reportedly handed after his graduation from Mt. Healthy Junior/Senior High School in Ohio. His family and supporters gave him such a rowdy reception that school officials denied him his diploma and told him he will have to perform 20 hours of community service before he can graduate, according to ABC 9 in Cincinnati.

Cornist maintains that he was just walking across the stage when the crowd reacted with what has been called "excessive" by the school. In this case, the attendees may have had good reason to cheer for the graduating senior as he was also a star on the school's football team.

The story was big news in Ohio:

Anthony Cornist and his family are vowing to fight the demand for 20 hours of community service, calling the school's sentence "ludicrous."

The school has yet to formally comment on the situation.