Graduation Ceremony Valedictorian Is Silenced
At a high school graduation in North Carolina, valedictorian Leen Hijaz stepped to the microphone and spoke her conscience.
After delivering her approved remarks, Hijaz added a brief message reminding her classmates that their voices matter. "Every single person here has a voice," she said. "We are privileged to have the freedom to use it."
She spoke about people suffering in Palestine, Sudan, Congo, Afghanistan, and families affected by immigration enforcement, telling the audience, "These are not distant issues. They are happening right now as I speak." Then she delivered a line that has since resonated far beyond her graduation ceremony: "We're not given a voice to stay silent." And that's when the school principal stormed the podium and shut off the valedictorian's microphone.
Hijaz says she was threatened with not receiving her diploma because she departed from her pre-approved speech. Whether people agree with her message or not, the video raises a larger question about free speech and the growing pressure many people feel to keep quiet, stay within approved boundaries, or risk consequences.
Throughout history, progress has often depended on ordinary people willing to speak uncomfortable truths. In that moment, a young woman stood before her community and used her voice anyway.
What do you think? Should students be free to express their views at graduation ceremonies, even when those views differ from what school officials approve in advance?
Faithville
Yes they absolutely should…but not with the intent to start violence
Evangel
Yes. I agree with Faithville. We're at a crossroads in America. Will we remain faithful to our Constitution or continue to shut people down when their speech makes us look at an egregious reality. This valedictorian had courage. God bless her for knowing her rights and role modeling them. Shame on the school 100%.
Youngdannville
Good for her. Shame on the principal
Homeless Valley
This makes me so mad. The principal acted like a dictator and stooge for DJT. That valedictorian did not deserved to be humiliated in front of the audience or have her diploma revoked. Crazy!
Well Street
In addition to Palestine, Congo, and Afghanistan, Miss Hijaz mentioned Sudan, where civil war has brought mass murder and sexual violence, including against infants and seniors. Maybe because Sudan has no oil reserves or rare Earth materials, and doesn't manufacture iPhones, our government is uninterested.
If this were an Ivy League school, it could be reasonably argued that fear of government retribution would motivate the administrator's action, given Trump's penchant for targeting them. Whether it was an effort to keep political speech and social commentary out of the ceremony, or the principal's alignment with Trump policies, it's not the best look. Threatening to withhold the diploma, speaking of retribution, is childish.
The quote, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it," comes to mind. Those of us commenting on this incident agree with Miss Hijaz's sentiments and her right to voice them. Had the Valedictorian been an American-born white student speaking out against discrimination against whites (50% in a 2022 NPR poll said this exists), I'd feel differently. Admittedly, I'm a big fan of free speech when I agree with it, and it doesn't offend me.