Valedictorian ordered to rewrite speech

This happened to me... way back in 1975! As president of the senior class, my speech was censored and partially rewritten by the assistant principal. I was told my thoughts were to open and critical of the established norms...

Its highschool,the hand book of rules that they give you is longer than the actually work books.

I sent them this email on Friday.

I believe that people should respect authority. I believe that teachers and principles should receive such respect from students. I also believe that students deserve such respect as well and especially when they spent four years doing as they were told and doing above and beyond many students to achieve a special accommodation.

A valedictorian is such an accommodation. Their speech is important to the graduating class. It will either make an impact on those who hear it or it will be so bland that people won't be able to wait to forget they even sat through it. That is the same with teachers. Some get remembered for making their students think and others are forgotten like the two people that had a hand in inventing the light bulb before Tomas Edison...they were easily forgotten.

Because of you and the other parties involved that is how the graduating class of 2009 will react to this year's speech. I cannot believe that adults grow older and forget what it is like to be a teenager. I cannot believe that those same adults were probably far worse students (for that is why adults are strict when they get older…they were bad teenagers) and are the adults dictating rules that are stringent and oppressive more than necessary.

This is their last day together for a really long time and you’re going to take part in stealing that day for your own selves? There is technically less mobility with free speech in a school setting for students than in the real world. But a graduation isn’t such a setting any more. The students have done their time. They have played by your rules for four years. This single day you cannot find it in yourselves to give them a single speech that will make them laugh? So what if it singles people out? So what if it’s slightly crass on some points? What exactly is going to happen? Someone is going to laugh…someone is going to get mad, but over all it’ll be remembered.

I do not believe there is a single thing in that entire speech that was illegal or wrong even within the stuffiness of a high school setting. I think, and I almost know for sure, that it was a personal opinion that held no logical stance that was used as the law on dictating if the speech was going to be used or not.

You all will be remembered as the old idiots who screwed up graduation and that new speech…no one will remember. It’ll be forgotten. But y’all will live in infamy for forever and be remembered as the people that made this year’s graduation class bored and allowed them to miss out on a speech that could have been an instant classic for them to reminisce on. What y’all have done is stole a memory. I hope you’re proud of that.

JJ

This angers me on general principles.

If it wasn't offensive, what right have they to dictate what she says? They aren't paying her, she's not a slave, and last time I checked, Americans have free speech.

Furthermore, she earned the right to give that speech based on their criteria for excellence; as far as I'm aware, valedictorian is given to the top student. If the smartest person in the class says something that bothers you, maybe you should examine the reason instead of assuming you know better.

I bet that advisor wasn't a valedictorian.

well of course, high schools aren't known for having freedom of thought.

I think it was Hemmingway that said it best: "F**k 'Em if they can't take a Joke"