Glowsticking during High School Grad Night @ Six Flags:

(IMG:http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss271/gscwhatwhat/wilson_gradnight.png)

Discuss. As with the East Vs. West thread posted by Cleric, we're not going to sway this discussion in either direction.

Not really pointing fingers here, I think we all understand it's hard to know when and where to glowstick. Even some veterans made positive comments in the thread.

Alright "glowsticking in high school = bad" Yes we all know that, but lets look at this from a different view.

Grad Night is enjoyed by seniors after or right before they graduate *not sure what the case is here*, but this is most likely going to be the last time Wilson sees most of these people. Because Grad night is only for seniors, we can assume after summer most of these people will be going to college, so I don't think its fair to say this is truly a "high school event". He probably shouldn't have in the first place, but honestly as far as breaking rules go, this could have been far worse and he probably thought it was ok. I'm glad at least it looked like he had fun =X.

I really don't have a problem with this personally...

I think we should know that cracking ultras at a place like six flags wouldn't be appropriate. Its a huge, crowded and very public area. Also, in this case, its still a highschool setting. Even if its called "grad night", its still the same group of kids with the same highschool mentality.

i can see the point about only seniors in this. they are not going to be in school anymore. freshmen, sophomore, etc won't be seeing this. this has made me think.

so i thought about it for a bit, and i came up with some items for discussion:

but the thing is that you WOULD be affecting other people, people who are not glowstickers, don't care to see it, some who may think it's cool, some of whom who think is stupid, some of whom think glowsticking is dumb, or druggy, and you would be reinforcing stereotypes of glowstickers and ravers who are clueless on the time and place to practice. it's like skateboarders inside of a museum

it's like seeing a guy in basketball gear at his defense trial. these people lack social awareness, and the simple nature of glowsticking at grad night just makes glowstickers look stupid.


it's less of an evil than prom, but it's still not actually good.

This is pretty much where I stand on this as well.

Even if it wasn't a high school grad night, would sticking at six flags even be appropriate in itself?
Don't think so.

its a graduation thing right well i mean i dont think any one is going to glowstick just to be cool especially now that theyre are out of high schoo most high school graduates are 18 and they are old enough to know not to follow trends and just to be themselves but if anyone does glowstick its usually because they love doing it not just to be cool

If it's hosted by the high school, it's still a high school event even if they are graduating in less than a week and college bound for the most part. Also considering the venue, this is why some of us may have an issue with it.

However, to bring up another point on age: it doesn't matter how old you are. An immature 30 year old is still immature and can still be stupider than someone who is younger and mature. One of the professors at my college said that the first two years is still just an extension of high school for a good majority of the student population. It is not until their third, even their fourth, year that a switch clicks inside of them. For some, the switch never clicks on at all.

Yes, people are leaving the high school setting but I don't think that upon that last day they will be given the badge of maturity that awards them with the social sensitivity of what's appropriate for something like glowsticking. Much how turning the age 21 doesn't necessarily mean that a person will handle alcohol maturely. Perhaps, our choice of this being inappropriate to some of us is so obvious because we have lived away from the stage of our lives.

Personally, I wouldn't have done it. Busting out sticks in a place such as Six Flags or any theme park would just seem awkward which is a red flag to question the setting's appropriateness. Likely, most of the people there would view glowsticking as something to be loathed ("Gawd, somebody is doing techno druggie raver shit there"), envied ("I wanna learn to be cool like him"), or misued as a tool for one-upmanship (That's nice...watch me take him down) which wouldn't make these people I'd want to practice around.

I hate to say it, but we don't live in a place with such open-minded people. It does not mean that we should not stop with helping people try to understand but glowsticking without providing context to those unfamiliar will only continue sending the messages we wish to see stop despite our intentions.

I agree with what has been said by Wushu and Dave.

Yes, I posted on Wilson's video. I did not support or deny his actions, I just said that the techniques and such he did were cool. I didn't think it was an appropriate venue to bring up this topic, but I was about to ask about this anyways, because I was not sure.

I feel that most people won't be mature, so long as it is in a high school setting. As Katt mentioned, even someone who is thirty wouldn't really understand or be mature about it. Hell, I know people almost fifty who whine and complain and are really biased. I think sticking should be kept to the privacy of your home, the clubs, or with a close group of friends, like a meet up. Otherwise, the negative connotations will always outweigh however much you try and explain the situation.

Great responses so far.

I honestly feel its cheesey to glowstick at sixflags, weddings, sweet 16s etc etc. Would I have thought this years ago? Probly not. So wushu made a great point about how age changes the way you would behave.
No matter what your intentions if I walked by I would just see you as a show off and a poser. The choices I made when I was 18 greatly differ from what I would do now at 26 (yeah yeah I'm old).
Digging even further down into my memory banks I realized a lot of my dumb mistakes in glowsticking came from when I first started and wasn't in the scene. The minute I started going to real raves, not massives, not festivals, not parties, Raves I changed. It was like maturing over night. I stopped practicing in the wrong areas, I didn't seek anyones approval or attention anymore. I didn't know about gsc yet. I didn't have to have veteran glowstickers tell me where when and how.
This is what I don't get. Why do these kids not understand? Why don't they get it? Its not a gsc thing. Its a scene thing.
When I got to gsc I didn't think the "rules" were all that crazy and iron fisted. I just understood and saw how it was staying true to what I had learnt at those few first raves I went to.
So yeah I think stringing at sixflags is a bunch of nonsense. 0.0

just to clear things up
i didn't glowstick at grad nite
for what GS.C would consider the wrong reasons
(like showing off)
it wasnt that way at all
i glowstick, because i love glowsticking,
and i do it staying within gs.c bounds as much as possible.

and neither is this a "is he mature or not" question
physically, im 18 now,
but "age is a matter of the mind"
im not trying to say im mature
but a large majority of my friends
outside of school ive been hanging are much, much older than me
(and they dont mind me hanging around with them, AND most of them are GS.C)
so i must at the very least not be immature enough to annoy them and drive them off
and dare i ask
isnt judging someone on how you first see them even more immature?
first impressions really dont mean much.

my closest friends in high school know i glowstick,
but they've never seen me crack sticks.
they wanted me to glowstick for them,
and its the least i could do for them.
it was very likely the last time we would be out having fun like that together at night,
taking that mentality, i asked "why not?"
and honestly speaking,
the small circle of friends i was with that night
if i didnt know them from before, or their ages
i wouldve thought they were older too if they were around with my older friends
as theyre maturity matches up to theirs
i wouldnt known any difference if they were all together in a group

grad nite also felt VERY much like a rave. (honestly)
the only difference was the lack of kandi,
and of course it being comprised only of high school senior graduates
nobody was antagonistic,
lights everywhere
GLOWSTICKS and light stuff were everywhere too.
there was loud music (bad electro and cheesey old school dance music at that)
everyone was dancing to it
most people were even on some kind of drug
(really? f'real).

i understand why this is such an issue,
and i knew someone would say something about this on GS.C
i haven't been on here for two years and not learn anything.
it was a high school event.
but it wasnt like
i was teaching 15 year olds how to glowstick,
or battling it out

this is also more a question on (this is also where the line gets blurry)
"where is it a good place to glowstick, and where isnt it"
because this is all opinion based
so there is no real point in debating this.

however, that is not to say that there shouldn't be a rule on this
where GS.C staff stands on this issue makes sense
because of its history.
That's where the rest of its rules are established from anyways.
but, there are exceptions to everything.
Theres so much other minor details too to take into consideration,
but i've already talked too much on this one post.

i'm sorry to have caused any more trouble.
but you can definitely expect me ,at the very least,
not to do something like this again.

on a side note,
maybe someone should've actually come to me and ask some questions?
(it would've been another mature action)
i find that a lot of people on gsc have been making accusations without getting the right info
not pointing any fingers!
:]

my point was that this wasnt at six flags.
small little thing.
but it still says something.

.&.

Wilson, to clarify on the pointing fingers thing, Dave actually delegated someone to post this on the forums to generate discussion, not to use you specifically as an example.

And it did generate discussion, which was the point. Not condemnation.

MY close freind asked me to glowstick at their wedding. I said no.
The LEAST i could have done would have been to glowstick.

no no i didnt mean that.
-___-
he also did say not to point any fingers.

i know its not condemnation.
i'm just trying to say there are exceptions sometimes.
(and trying to show my point of view)
.&.

Just because it FEELS like a rave doesn't mean it is a rave; nor that it is appropriate towards the culture of glowsticking. So what if most people were on some kind of drug, that doesn't justify you glowsticking in public.

Okay, so you didn't glowstick at Six Flags. That just changes the question a little. This thread was merely started to cause discussion, not to point fingers.

Glowsticking at Grad Night: Thoughts & Discussion. Go.

As for what I've said to people who have asked me:
Freshman in College or Senior in High School; Grade doesn't matter. You can be a senior in College for all I care, but if you're immature, then you're immature. To put it bluntly, an increase in age does not equal an increase in maturity.

Therefore, my stance on glowsticking at Six Flags, Grad Night, or Prom Night is that it shouldn't be done. One of the goals we aim for regarding the glowsticking scene is to disestablish the negative connotations that rave has given to dancing with glowsticks.

On one of the comments left for the video they said,
"Haha, remember the six flags employee?
"OMG, this is so amazing, I think I'm gonna pass out."
LMAOOO".

That is definitely not the reaction we want when we express ourselves through this artform. Even if the comment is a little vague, it's meaning can still be derived from it's context.

who the fuck even brings glowsticks to a Six Flags? I can think of a lot i'd rather be doing there than glowsticking in the middle of an amusement park...

okay let me number your points.
and lets have an open debate cause thats what thsi is right?

1. You're right. but i didnt say it was a rave. I'm saying it has elements from it. And neither was i justifying me glowsticking there by saying there were drugs. What do you take me for? So I glowstick only when people are on something?

2. No it doesnt change the question. It questions if you communicate with the person in question,
to clarify, before you bringing up discussions like this.

3. "As for what I've said to people who have asked me..." I don't think we asked for your opinion on other people's maturity. But I did say age was a matter of the mind didn't I?

4. The most obvious negative connotations related to glowsticking: glowsticking=rave=drugs.
People on drugs who see glowsticks usually ask for lightshows. I don't give lightshows. And frankly,
people who are up on something scare me. I'm not promoting that at all; I didn't give lightshows to anyone, nor was i asked to give lightshows. There.

5. How someone reacts to somthing, that's how they are. You're just criticizing that person's personality. That's harsh. I do other forms of art too. If someone said that, or something like that,
(i.e. omg i cant stop staring, that trips me out, how the hell is he doing that) I would actually be quite pleased, because I am making a significant effect on them with how I express myself. One goal of an artist. It's up to the artist himself to decide what comments are appropriate/inappropriate. And, most things can be derived from their original context because of how different people's minds are.