I don't know...I think for a lot of graduates and their families, hearing that name called is the most significant part of the experience; I sit through a graduation every year, and regardless of how much it would speed things up, I'd hate to see that taken away from them. I think that's actually the main problem with the cheering; it doesn't stop anyone from seeing the graduates walk across the stage, but it does keep families from hearing their graduate's name.
I went to the West Ashley High School graduation last week; they marched about 380 students across the stage. There was about a 6-8 second pause between each name, which allowed for a short cheer from time to time that didn't drown out the next name. The downside was that with that many students, the graduation took about an hour and 45 minutes, but that also included some singing presentations and other awards...overall, I thought it went well, nobody missed hearing a name called, and families were able to react to seeing their student receive a diploma without reprisal. I think there really is a happy medium between complete repression and disruptive chaos...
