Palo Alto High School senior Eriberto "Edi" Diaz walked up to the podium, received his diploma, and waved to his fellow students as shouts, yells, and whoops were heard across the Paly football field.

Edi and the rest of the 320-student Paly senior class of 2003 graduated yesterday in a commencement full of music and speeches.

Student Body President Lakshmi Eassey welcomed the seniors and all of their families and friends with a brief inspirational speech, in which she spoke of her years at Paly and of what is to come.

Following were three commencement addresses made by Sathvik Tantry, Moetoto Adrianne Faasolo, and Brian McGinn. Tantry began with a couple of lines from the famous Dr. Seuss, which he used to refer to the class of 2003’s future. He spoke not only of all the places they have been, but also of all the places they will go. Faasolo addressed all the choices that Paly students make, and said that the hardest choices are often the best choices. McGinn spoke of his time at Paly, the students’ duty to peace in the world, and of being the best person you can.

Senior Class President Rebecca Shepherd presented the customary class gift to the school, 200 new non-wood folding chairs. She made a remark to the effect of "no more splinters in our butts" as she presented the gift.

Following, Principal Sandra Pearson presented Eassey with the Viking Award, a recognition that honors one student with outstanding leadership, morals, and academic achievement.

The scene was very emotional for many of the graduates and attendees. There was a lot of cheering for the graduates, and hugs and tears and Kodak moments. Junior Chris Richardson commented, "The ceremony was breathtaking; it truly was a tearjerker in that it was the last time I’m truly going to share high school with all my senior friends, and it was an overall good experience and I’m really going to miss them."

Graduating senior Blair Ord had his own take on graduation, "It was the happiest day of my life. You’ll have a lot of fun, [but] just don’t slack off as a senior too much, like I did, because I almost didn’t graduate."

Other highlights of the commencement ceremonies included a multitude of musical performances. The ceremonies were begun by the prelude and processional played by the Paly Concert Band. A slightly embellished version of "The Star Spangled Banner" was played by senior trumpet player Kyu Kim. The two standout performances were the "Theme from Pearl Harbor," sung by Jessica Hu and Shannon Smith, and a saxophone quartet performance of "Andante et Scherzo" by seniors Joe Hayes, Sean Hurlburt, Matt Nolan, and Trevor Edmunds.

Diplomas were presented by Superintendent Mary Frances Callan and Board of Education members Mandy Lowell, Gail Price, and Cathy Kroymann. The final acceptance was done by Price and Lowell.

Following the event, the graduates were led off to dinner and a farewell party aboard a cruise ship, which took them around the San Francisco Bay. The fun and games included gambling, fortune telling, karaoke, air hockey, and dancing. The party lasted until 2 a.m., and as senior Voice staff member Francois Hughes commented, "It was very nice and everybody was mellow. We all had a good time."