Bonny Eagle Superintendent Suzanne Lukas needs to chill. Some might say she needs a long Florida vacation or a bath bubbling with Calgon. Mostly, Ms. Lukas needs to regain perspective.

Lukas is the focus of the local and national spotlight this week because of her actions at Bonny Eagle’s graduation exercises on June 12 at the Cumberland County Civic Center. The assembled graduates irked her with their pesky misdeeds, which incorporated beach balls and, of all things, inflated ducks, along with one student’s simultaneous act of bowing to the audience and blowing a kiss to his mother.

Lukas’ refusal to hand over diplomas to these revelers was featured on Fox News, CNN and in local media. While on a much smaller scale, it’s ironic how Lukas’ heavy-handed reaction occurred the same weekend Iranian students rose up. Iranian leaders and Lukas took very strong stands against the rabble-rousers and got the same result: negative reviews from those who bristle at the notion of authoritarianism. People say Lukas was wrong for doing what she did, denying diplomas to students who had worked hard to get to that stage at the civic center. They are correct.

I have been to several Bonny Eagle graduations and can attest that beach balls were a part of each and every one, as they are at just about every graduation ceremony. While I initially was on her side in this debate, the more I think about her over-the-top reaction the less I can defend it. Kids will be kids. Their acts are usually tolerated because graduation is nothing more than a celebration. There’s no room for severe discipline at such an event, at least when the behavior includes silly toys.

This experience has exposed at least three character flaws in Lukas. Firstly, Lukas proved she is out of touch with kids. She is paid a lot of money to lead the school district, but most of her time is spent in meetings and crunching budgets, not enough time bonding with the kids. Maybe it’d be better if she, and all superintendents for that matter, taught a class or two to remember how kids act.

Secondly, the overreaction on Lukas’ part shows she has a short fuse. To sweat the small stuff is unbecoming to a leader. Surely, she has been to enough of these ceremonies to realize that a few antics are part of the tradition.

Thirdly, she showed little good humor when good humor was required. Does she fail to realize that the beach ball represents the last chance to do something naughty for these students? After June 12’s graduation, that sort of high school high-jinx was to be over for those kids. And they knew it. The beach ball, bow to the audience, mother-aimed air kiss and inflated duck were all part of a last-ditch effort to hold onto childhood because the next day, June 13, the real world would come a-knocking. Sure, batting a beach ball wasn’t the best use of their time at graduation, but what else is graduation if not a celebration of 12 years of hard work.

I’m normally one who enjoys structure and seriousness. But I’ve been to these graduations and know how long and boring they can be. Beach balls, until they are batted toward someone who doesn’t appreciate them, liven things up a little, sort of like the wave or, come to think of it, beach balls at Red Sox games. Administrators denying diplomas because of such innocent antics is ridiculous at best, vengeful at worst.

In the end, Lukas wasn’t wrong to be frustrated by the antics. Six beach balls aloft at the same time would drive any speaker mad. But like the situation in Iran, you’ve got to give the students their due. Here in America, we don’t like the big guy stepping on the little guy, and that’s why people are disturbed by Lukas’ overbearing reaction. Her only recourse is to apologize and make amends. She doesn’t want to be like Iran’s supreme leader and fail to realize she was wrong, and stay the wrong course. Apologizing is a much better option.

John Balentine is a former editor of the Lakes Region Weekly.