Principal stops 'queer' valedictorian's unauthorized LGBTQ speech, takes paper from him. But student disobeys again — and recites speech from memory.



Officials at Eastern Regional High School in Voorhees, New Jersey, asked valedictorian Bryce Dershem to remove a gay pride flag draped over his gown at the graduation ceremony earlier this month, WCAU-TV reported.

But the station said Dershem didn't comply. It was a sign of things to come.

What happened?

Like other high school valedictorians who've made headlines recently, Dershem had it in mind to go off script and read his own speech rather than the one the school approved.

"After I came out as queer freshman year, I felt so alone," Dershem said from behind the microphone during the June 17 ceremony. "I didn't know who to turn to."

At that point, principal Robert Tull Jr. was seen on video walking behind the stage — and seconds later Dershem's mic was cut off. Tull then walked up to the podium and took the mic — and allegedly the written copy of Dershem's unauthorized speech.

The valedictorian told WCAU that Tull actually "grabbed the paper that I brought and crumpled it in front of me in his hand," although video doesn't show Tull crumpling the paper in question. Dershem added to the station that Tull also "pointed to the speech he had written for me, effectively, and told me I was to say that and nothing else."

Image source: WCAU-TV video screenshot

But instead, Dershem chose once again to not comply and began reciting his speech from memory, which dealt with his coming out and experiences with overcoming mental illness and eating disorders.

What did the school district have to say?

Robert Cloutier, superintendent of Eastern Camden County Regional School District, told WCAU that graduation speeches are expected to connect the speaker's educational experiences to an inclusive message about the future of all students in the graduating class and their guests.

"Every year, all student speakers are assisted in shaping the speech, and all student speeches — which are agreed upon and approved in advance — are kept in the binder on the podium for the principal to conduct the graduation ceremony," Cloutier told the station.

But Dershem said administrators during the speech editing process made him take out all mentions of his queer identity and going to treatment — even telling him that the graduation ceremony was not "his therapy session," WCAU reported.

Image source: WCAU-TV video screenshot

"I did feel censored," Dershem told the station. "I felt as though they were trying to regulate the message I was going to say and take away the parts of my identity that I'm really proud of."

The valedictorian added to WCAU that Tull's interruption of his speech was made to appear as though it was a technical issue — but that there were no technical issues with other presenters. In addition, the station said Cloutier's statement didn't explain what happened to the microphone.

Still, Dershem told WCAU his classmates, family, and boyfriend cheered him on during his speech and congratulated him afterward.

Justice High School graduates warned of world full of 'racism,' 'white supremacy' — and hear Pledge with phrase 'one nation under Allah'



It was a high school graduation ceremony as rife with woke ideology as you can imagine — but then again, with a moniker like Justice High School, what else could one expect?

What are the details?

By way of introduction, Justice High School — which is part of the Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia — was known as J.E.B. Stuart High School until July 2018 when the powers that be decided on a name change in order to "represent a fundamental American value but also specifically in honor of three outstanding individuals identified by our community for their roles in championing equal rights, inclusivity, and justice for all: Barbara Rose Johns, Justice Thurgood Marshall, and Col. Louis G. Mendez Jr."

The school is dominated by students of color; only about 20% are white, according to the latest demographics. And it's an "international student body" with "over 50 different languages ... from more than 70 countries."

And last Monday, more than 500 graduates gathered with their caps and gowns — and folks got a taste of what the school apparently is all about.

For starters, about 25 minutes into the ceremony, the class president recited the Pledge of Allegiance — which she called "the nation's anthem" — and used the phrase "one nation under Allah," which caused a bit of a stir in the aftermath.

Then came a strident keynote address from Abrar Omeish — the lone Muslim member of the Fairfax County School Board — who told graduates they're entering a world full of "racism, extreme versions of individualism and capitalism, [and] white supremacy." Her speech begins just before the ceremony's one-hour mark.

At one point — speaking to students apparently in Arabic — Omeish uttered the word "jihad" after she had urged them in English to "be reminded of the details of your struggle." In Arabic, "jihad" means "struggle" but also has been tied closely to radical Islam.

But mostly she urged students to live up to their legacies as "the justice class of 2021" since they were "made for something different" and "something bigger" — in other words, to cause "good trouble" as they live as woke activists.

"Social justice is only political for those who can afford to ignore it," Omeish added to the students, emphasizing that "'neutral' is another word for 'complicit.'"

Eye-opening background

The Daily Wire reported that the student government president introduced Omeish by highlighting that she was "Virginia co-chair for the Bernie Sanders campaign" and that her father, Esam Omeish, was a "leader and a board member of the Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center" who "raised his daughter to be an outspoken woman." Omeish noted that her dad was in the crowd, the outlet said.

The outlet added that two 9/11 hijackers and the 2009 Fort Hood killer attended the Dar al-Hijrah mosque — and that its American-born imam was Anwar al-Awlaki, an American who was killed under former President Barack Obama for his connection to terrorism.

More from the Daily Wire:

In her introduction, the student leader said Omeish faced "hatred for speaking truth to power about the Palestinian experience" but "continues to overcome and be an example so that young leaders like us will do the same."

The introduction from a student also stated that "two years ago [Omeish's] civil rights were violated by the police due to her appearance: she was attacked and discriminated against." That entire incident is on video, which shows that an officer pulled over her car after watching her run a red light from a distance, from which her appearance was not visible. She repeatedly refused to show her license and then refused to get out of the car, leading to her arrest.

Here's a snippet of Omeish's nearly 30-minute speech:

School board member urges high schoolers to remember jihad as they enter a world of white supremacyyoutu.be