The valedictorian of a North Carolina high school said it was refusing to give her diploma following her graduation speech to her Class of 2026.
Video shows Leen Hijaz delivering her address last Thursday, until a school official appears to cut her off and attempt to escort her away from the microphone.
“Before I leave the stage, I have one last thing to say,” she told the crowd of Clayton High School students assembled on the football field. “Every single person here has a voice … We are privileged to have the freedom to use it when so many people around the world are struggling and suffering to be heard.”
“Whether it’s the million suffering in Palestine, Sudan, Congo, Afghanistan, and so many other countries around the world, these are the families being torn apart by ICE [Immigration & Customs Enforcement],” Hijaz continued. “These are not distant issues, they are happening right now as I speak.”
Right at that point, Clayton High School Principal Melissa Moore Hubbard is caught on camera grabbing Hijaz by the arm, guiding her away from the microphone and ending the speech.
But this wouldn’t be the first time a valedictorian or class president was told not to make their speeches political and had to get hauled off the stage.
I am shocked. Shocked I tell you, that Leen Hajiz did not also mention we have a voice to curb rising and rampant antisemitism in our country too. Maybe that could have kept her up on stage.
What could you even say in a graduation speech that would be 100% non-political? At best something incredibly boring like just stating simple facts, “today is Saturday and we graduate.” Hell mentioning the name is school is likely a political statement in many cases.
I think what people really mean by “non-political” is not offensive to the person who is judging if it is political. This is just like Colin Kapernick when people were complaining that Colin was bringing politics into sports, which somehow just ignored how political it is to play the national anthem in the first place.
I suspect it was the mention of ICE that specifically put the remarks over the line for the school administration, which can’t be surprising given the politicization of immigration policy and ICE in particular over the past year and a half. I don’t think it would be tough to avoid political speech in valedictory remarks, but calling out ICE is definitely asking for scrutiny, especially given that her remarks were submitted and approved well beforehand.
That’s not the established standard. If there is Canadian partisan political discussion hiding in a thread somewhere in the Coffee Room that we missed, please let us know and we’ll move it.