They'll have to confront temperatures of 90 to 100 degrees during this week's graduation ceremonies. It will be even rougher for thousands of Wake County high school seniors who won't have the benefit of air conditioning for their graduation ceremonies inside Reynolds Coliseum at N.C. State University.

"Hopefully, they'll leave programs on the seats so we can fan ourselves," said Jamie Cox, an Apex High School senior who will graduate Saturday at Reynolds. "We'll just have to deal with it."

Even seniors at other schools in Wake County, Durham, Orange County and Chapel Hill-Carrboro who will be using air-conditioned facilities don't have it completely easy. They'll still have to stand outside in the heat as they prepare to walk inside for the ceremonies.

That's why Durham school officials are encouraging high schools to provide coolers filled with cold water so that students can stay hydrated while assembling outdoors.

But these students will have it easy compared to seniors who will be inside the oven at Reynolds Coliseum. Ten Wake high schools were assigned to Reynolds for their graduation ceremonies.

Wake has used Reynolds since 2006 because the old Raleigh Conference and Convention Center, which held many graduations, was demolished. The school district hopes to use the new convention center next year after it opens.

For now, the largest high schools in Wake were assigned to Reynolds, while the smaller ones were able to use air-conditioned facilities elsewhere.

"I'm glad I'm not going to be there," said Randy Bailey.

Bailey and his fellow Fuquay-Varina High School seniors willgraduate Wednesday at Memorial Auditorium in Raleigh, which has air conditioning.

Middle Creek High School swallowed its pride and is graduating inside Broughton High's spacious air-conditioned gym. Broughton Principal Roy Teel said none of the other schools took advantage of the option.

"It's hard to have a graduation in another school's gym," Teel said.

A May 31 graduation ceremony at Reynolds for Southeast Raleigh High School could provide a taste of what's to come. One student and one member of the audience were treated for heat-related problems, according to Mick Kulikowski, a spokesman for NCSU.

Cox, who attended Southeast Raleigh's graduation to cheer on friends, said graduates were rushing to take off their gowns as soon as they could.

The outdoor temperature at the time of Southeast Raleigh's graduation was 79 degrees. It will be hotter this week.

Cooling off

Wake will take additional steps to make ceremonies as comfortable as possible at Reynolds.

Misting tents will be in operation at the coliseum's north entrance. More fans will be in service to provide air circulation, but they could make it harder to hear what's being said onstage.

"We are hoping the weather will moderate," said Bill Poston, a Wake schools spokesman.

Students in Johnston County will have their own issues. Except for Princeton High, which is small enough to hold its graduation indoors, schools will hold their ceremonies outdoors.

"Thank goodness we'll be indoors," said Kirk Denning, principal of Princeton High.

Once students get past the heat, they'll be able to celebrate the payoff for 13 years of hard work. They'll be among the 3.3 million seniors graduating nationwide this year, the largest class since 1977, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

"I'm excited," said Leo Fialla, a senior at Fuquay-Varina High. "I'm ready to go to college."

Danielle Payseur was not as gung-ho about leaving high school.

"It's sad," said Payseur, a senior at Fuquay-Varina High. "It's going to be hard to leave. I'll miss this place."

It's also not easy for teachers to say goodbye to the seniors.

"It breaks my heart," said Carole Barber, the math department chairwoman at Fuquay-Varina High. "If I could keep them another month, I would."

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