How do people handle members of the class who moved away, went to private school, or who simply did not graduate with the class?

It would be great if there could be a check box in classmates' profiles that would enable a new icon to identify those people.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

Hello, Evan.

I'm one of those who doesn't add names to the Classmate Profiles list until I'm specifically asked to. Everyone who is on the list and wants to register, is treated equally, so it doesn't matter if they were at the school for a long time or for a brief moment. Personally, I don't think it's necessary to have an icon that distinguishes how long they were there or why they moved on. They can always explain that in their Profile notes when they enter the years they were at the school, which is one of the questions I insist they answer when they complete the Profile.

I hope this helps a little.
Mark

A variety of requests for other icons have come in. If we did them all of course we'd have a real icon mess. For this reason we added to the Task List last year a "make your own icon" system. It's currently a low priority task behind quite a few other things more pressing, however it will be coming sometime this year, most likely around summer based on the priorities here. So hang tight and stay tuned, for classes who want to make icons for this and anything else that is specific to the class, you'll be able to do that this year.

We had a number of those situations, and so we added them as 'guests' and in their last name added '69 or whatever to designate the year of graduation, and/or would add abbreviation of the high school graduated from if not our own. The person can then add more information, if necessary, in their 'school story' such as, "my father was transfered in my junior year" etc.

We list them as a member of the class, even though they did not graduate with us.
Some died - for a variety of reasons,
some joined the service before graduation,
some moved before graduation, etc.
We want to remember those whom we were in school with, and stay in touch if they are still alive.

Family members and faculty are added upon request, and those who are from other classes are added upon review - we have turned no one down to date!

We had a discussion on the forum about where you draw the line and who do you consider a classmate. The final vote was:

If they attended classes with the class from 7th grade and up they would be considered a classmate. That was when all the elementary grades came together. Below the 7th grade is someone in a different class. Our argument was if they are a classmate up until 11th grade aren't they still a classmate? And if they only attended their senior year does that really mean they are a graduate?

So we decided that the more the merrier. But drawing the line at 7th grade. I have had a few contact me that were not graduates but attended at some point and were thrilled to be considered once again a classmate. As the years go by the number of classmates will go down with deaths so we want to keep as many as we can now!!

So if there were an icon for those classmates. We would not use it.

We've got the 'big tent' open to cover all.

525 were on the commencement list; 600 are on the class list. We included them if their picture was in the yearbook, if they've attended a past reunion, plus a few who moved away in their junior year or senior year, etc.

If they want to come to the Reunion, we want them to be there!

While I keep track of whether they were on the commencement list or not, it's not something we differentiate by. I have the Senior picture pages and the commencement list as a PDF that they can download.

Eva Marcos,

At first I our site was exclusive to the first four years, but pressure from my own sibling, I just added them as Guest Members, but then there were more and more so it was necessary to add more years until I felt enough. The site now cover the first twenty years (or as I like to say a Generation – it’s possible to graduate, get married, have a child, who in turn could graduate from the high school as their parent (s.)

I have taken a different approach and I will explain why, ours was a military town, this meant that many would be here for a couple of years and then they would be moved by the Air Force to someplace new -- Bummer! Childhood friends, sweethearts, close girlfriends and friends would be gone! So I wanted to reach out (and its working) to all. On our site we added this to the Home page:

"... It is not a primary concern that you graduated, but that you grew up in the "Val"! Many of us came here as part of Air Force families (and they do move way too often) but for some of us, our fondest memories are of growing up together!

So if you grew up in the 'Val,' and your name is not listed contact me (tell me what year you would have graduated -- and I will be glad to add you!) If you have contact with any of our missing Vikings, please invite them to “Our Site,” for only by working as a team can we make it better..."

I also add that some graduated early or for pregnancy reasons did not graduate with the class and graduated from night school or received their GED elsewhere.

Our goal was not to be so stiff lipped or snobbish, to break race/ethnic barriers and create a home for all of us to re-charge our batteries and re-stimulate those brain cells of who we are now and who we were then (BFFL.) We lived in a turbulent time of the sixties, seventies, and eighties and our world was changing.

All I ask is that they tell me the year that they would have graduated.

Over the years our classmate database has increased with the names of classmates who were not in the official school list of graduates. Most moved and graduated from another school, but they still consider themselves classmates and we do too. Once a LINK, always a LINK.

A bit or irony is that there are a disproportionate number of the non-graduating classmates who have already registered on the web site and want to attend the reunion. We are thrilled.

Donna

I have to agree with most. Why should we prevent someone from joining? If they touched some of our lives while we were in school then they are part of our past and thus part of our class.

This is what we have put up and it has been working well for us.
It was the 60's and if you did not meet dress or hair code on picture day, you did not have an annual picture taken.

Who can join us? The profile lists were taken straight from the senior section of each annual. To be added as a class member, a student needs to have a junior picture listed in the previous annual. If a picture can only be found in the sophomore or freshman sections of the appropriate year, then a person can be added as a guest. People who graduated or tracked for other years cannot join. Other memberships are determined individually at the discretion of the admins.

At our descretion: We add people at the request of a registered classmate if they ask us to and that person left before the freshman year. We do verify that with other classmates.

People from other years have asked to join us and we sweetly suggest they start their own site through us.

We have had family members of deceased classmates who want to join, but the response is no.

Our guests are some of our most active memebers. They are listed as guests in the class lists. We do not need an icon.

Margaret