At this year's University of Arizona commencement ceremony, McKale Center officials will be checking bags for all the usual suspects: weapons, outside food and drink–and tortillas, the Arizona Daily Wildcat reports.
The graduation tradition of tossing tortillas in the air instead of caps (how pass�!) has drawn ire from critics who say the ritual is insensitive, if not racist, against Mexican-American and American Indian culture. In December 2005, the school canceled commencement because of the controversy, but it has since reinstated the event.
Cultural sensitivity was not the only concern on school officials' minds. "If tortillas dry out, they can harden and become dangerous," warned one administrator. –A.G.
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