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.

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Pro-life activist who regrets her abortion issues powerful rebuttal to pro-choice valedictorian Paxton Smith



Pro-life activist Toni McFadden — a staff member with Students for Life of America — penned a powerful rebuttal to Paxton Smith, the Texas high school valedictorian who recently dumped her approved graduation speech so she could rant against the state's "heartbeat bill."

And McFadden made her point with a letter to her own two daughters, telling them to not look up to the likes of Smith.

"She may have the ability to string together emotionally driven words, but if they are not founded in truth it will lead to destruction," McFadden emphasized.

McFadden explained in her letter that when she was Smith's age, she got pregnant and "believed the lie that ending the life of my child would restore my dreams, my goals and my aspirations."

It was a decision she regrets:

After consuming poisonous pills to end the life of my baby, your sibling, that is not what happened. Nothing was restored.

It was all a lie. The regret settled in, but I quickly pushed it down to survive. There is nothing natural about taking the life of your own child. I do not care how empowering someone like Ms. Paxton may make it sound. The reality is I had no right to take the life of my innocent child for my own selfish gain.

The last thing I would ever want for my beautiful girls is to believe that lie.

She concluded her letter to her daughters by telling them "what makes you a powerful woman is unapologetically being who God created you to be. It's standing in truth even when the world is trying to convince you to live in lies. I pray Ms. Paxton will someday take her gift of intelligence and use it to protect life, not promote death."

What's the background?

Part of Smith's speech to fellow graduates of Lake Highlands High School in Dallas read, "I have dreams and hopes and ambitions. Every girl graduating today does. And we have spent our entire lives working toward our future, and without our input and without our consent, our control over that future has been stripped away from us. I am terrified that if my contraceptives fail, I am terrified that if I am raped, then my hopes and aspirations and dreams and efforts for my future will no longer matter. I hope that you can feel how gut-wrenching that is. I hope that you can feel how dehumanizing it is to have the autonomy over your own body taken away from you."

Here's Smith's speech in full:

Paxton Smith Speech at Lake Highlands Graduationyoutu.be

While Smith's speech was a surprise to administrators — who later reportedly indicated they could respond by denying her diploma, although that seemed a remote possibility — it was no shock at all that leftists far and wide praised Smith's strident words.

Among her new fans was former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton who tweeted, "This took guts. Thank you for not staying silent, Paxton."

Anything else?

For a completely different point of view on the abortion issue, here's McFadden talking about this year's March for Life in Washington, D.C., and her reasons for participating:

Why Toni McFadden with Students for Life is marching for lifeyoutu.be

This High School Valedictorian Fought Her Government School For Muzzling Religious Speech — And Won

'I’m just so grateful that this is a free country, and that we have freedom of speech, and so we can fall back on the Constitution and express ourselves,' Lefler said.

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Hillary Clinton, other leftists praise HS valedictorian's surprise, unapproved speech attacking pro-life 'heartbeat bill' in Texas



Paxton Smith — valedictorian of Lake Highlands High School in Dallas — had her graduation speech ready to go and approved by the school administration, D Magazine reported.

But Smith had something different in mind.

What happened?

The magazine said she couldn't stop thinking about the "heartbeat bill" that Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law last month — which naturally attracted a certain amount of controversy. The measure prohibits abortions when babies' heartbeats are detected, which can occur as early as four to six weeks after conception.

In addition, the magazine said the measure — which goes into effect in September — makes no provision if pregnancies are the result of incest or rape, and that abortion rights activists have said it's the most restrictive law in the country.

So, instead of her approved speech, Smith read an unapproved speech attacking the "heartbeat bill." The magazine said she pulled a folded piece of paper from her bra and began to read:

Paxton Smith Speech at Lake Highlands Graduationyoutu.be

Here's the text of Smith's speech she read:

As we leave high school we need to make our voices heard. Today, I was going to talk about TV and media and content because it's something that's very important to me. However, in light of recent events, it feels wrong to talk about anything but what is currently affecting me and millions of other women in this state.

Recently the heartbeat bill was passed in Texas. Starting in September, there will be a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, regardless of whether the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest. Six weeks. That's all women get. ... Most of them don't realize that they're pregnant by six weeks. So before they have the chance to decide if they are emotionally, physically, and financially stable enough to carry out a full-term pregnancy, before they have the chance to decide if they can take on the responsibility of bringing another human being into the world, that decision is made for them by a stranger. A decision that will affect the rest of their lives is made by a stranger.

I have dreams and hopes and ambitions. Every girl graduating today does. And we have spent our entire lives working toward our future, and without our input and without our consent, our control over that future has been stripped away from us. I am terrified that if my contraceptives fail, I am terrified that if I am raped, then my hopes and aspirations and dreams and efforts for my future will no longer matter. I hope that you can feel how gut-wrenching that is. I hope that you can feel how dehumanizing it is to have the autonomy over your own body taken away from you.

And I'm talking about this today, on a day as important as this, on a day honoring 12 years of hard, academic work, on a day where we are all gathered together, on a day where you are most inclined to listen to a voice like mine, a woman's voice, to tell you that this is a problem. And it's a problem that cannot wait. And I cannot give up this platform to promote complacency and peace when there is a war on my body and a war on my rights. A war on the rights of your mothers, a war on the rights of your sisters, a war on the rights of your daughters. We cannot stay silent.

What happened next?

The magazine said a couple of administrators told Smith that the school could withhold her diploma — but as you might expect, nothing has come of that. She plans to attend the University of Texas in Austin.

What was the reaction?

Also as you might expect, leftists far and wide praised Smith's strident speech railing against a pro-life measure — including former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton who tweeted, "This took guts. Thank you for not staying silent, Paxton."

This took guts. Thank you for not staying silent, Paxton. https://t.co/DlwEgmMRGN

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) 1622651455.0

Many others expressed similar sentiments. Here are a few:

  • Feminist author Jessica Valenti tweeted that she's "in awe of young people."
  • Pro-abortion organization NARAL tweeted that "the future's looking bright."
  • And former Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis — a well-known Texas pro-abortion activist in her own right — thanked Smith for her "courage."
  • "Wow!" tweeted Democratic U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar of Texas. "Paxton Smith, you are a courageous, brilliant woman. Thank you for using your voice to shed light on the war on women's autonomy happening in Texas."

Yet another HS tries to censor 'very Christianized' speech by valedictorian — and reverses course when called out by law firm



On the heels of a Michigan high school valedictorian being told faith references in her graduation speech are "not appropriate" — and then the principal reversing her position after getting a complaint letter from a law firm — yet another high school in the state decided against carrying out the same move toward censorship after the same law firm complained.

What are the details?

First Liberty Institute sent a Tuesday letter to Michael Wegher — principal of John Glenn High School in Westland — over his attempt to censor the "very Christianized" portion of Savannah Lefler's speech set to be part of senior honors night, which is scheduled next week.

Lefler's original speech notes that philosophies espoused by the likes of Plato and Charles Darwin are "wrong" — and then she declares that, "The purpose of life is to live a life devoted to Christ. Westminster Catechism Number One, 'The Chief Purpose for Which Man is Made is to Glorify God, and to Enjoy Him Forever,'" the letter says.

Wegher told Lefler that her speech needed a "revision" since "we have students and staff who would identify as Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindi, Sikh, Jehovah's Witnesses, atheist, etc. We must be inclusive and respectful of their beliefs as well," the letter adds.

Pushback

First Liberty's letter informed the principal that "student graduation speeches constitute private speech, not government speech, and private speech is not subject to the Establishment Clause. Contrary to your assertion, Ms. Lefler's statements do not transform into government speech simply because they are delivered in a public school setting or channel."

The law firm told Wegher that his actions constitute "violating students' rights under the Free Speech Clause" and requested that he "allow Ms. Lefler to express her private religious beliefs in her Honors Night speech" by Wednesday.

That was fast

Well, First Liberty said in a news release Wednesday the school's decision was "reversed" and that Lefler would be allowed to deliver she speech in the way she wanted.

The law firm said while the school district's response didn't concede "a legal requirement," it allows a "one-time non-negotiable relinquishment of control" that lets her give her remarks with a disclaimer stating that the speech is not endorsed by the school.

"May God be glorified in the situation," Lefler said in reaction to the decision, First Liberty said. "I'm thankful I will be able to share my faith in Christ with my classmates and pray that this never happens to another student in the future."

But the district doesn't seem too pleased

According to the Christian Post, the letter from the school district's attorney told First Liberty that its legal position was "without any merit whatsoever."

"Nearly half of Ms. Lefler's draft speech was unmoored from any sort of academic or pedagogical interest related to the School District's Honors Convocation. Rather, it was an attempt to proselytize at a school-sponsored event, with the School District's imprimatur," attorney Kevin T. Sutton wrote, according to the outlet.

Sutton's letter added, "Indeed, it is not a speech — it is a sermon," the Christian Post noted.

The outlet added that the draft of Lefler's speech also said, "Seeing that man is completely unable to achieve perfection, God made a way for us to be reconciled to Him through the perfect life of Jesus Christ, who is God in flesh."

It also said, "He not only lived perfectly, but he was killed on a cross and took the punishment that humans deserve. Then he rose from the dead three days later, thus vindicating His holiness and divinity. This allows us to fulfill our purpose in glorifying God because we can now stand before Him blameless if we repent and trust in Christ and His finished work. May His name be praised forever!" the Christian Post said.

'Victory': Christian valedictorian now allowed to mention her faith in graduation speech after principal called out by law firm



A valedictorian from a Michigan high school now is allowed to mention her Christian faith in her graduation speech set for next week after the school's principal — who had said the faith reference was "not appropriate" — was called out in a complaint letter, First Liberty Institute said.

In a brief note on its website titled, "Victory: Michigan High School Student No Longer Censored,Michigan High School Student No Longer Censored," First Liberty said Hillsdale High School reversed its decision preventing Elizabeth Turner from referencing her faith.

"We are grateful to school officials for acting swiftly to ensure that religious students can freely exercise their right to express their faith in a graduation speech," Keisha Russell, Counsel for First Liberty Institute, said. "Elizabeth is thrilled that she'll be able to celebrate her graduation without being censored. We hope that future graduates will be free from religious censorship."

Turner noted that she's "grateful I will be able to share my faith with my classmates, and I pray that God uses this situation to advance His kingdom."

What's the background?

According to First Liberty, one section of Turner's speech noted, "For me, my future hope is found in my relationship with Christ. By trusting in him and choosing to live a life dedicated to bringing his kingdom glory, I can be confident that I am living a life with purpose and meaning. My identity is found by what God says and who I want to become is laid out in scripture."

The legal firm said the school's principal, Amy Goldsmith, reacted by highlighting that paragraph, along with a second, and telling Turner that "you are representing the school in the speech, not using the podium as your public forum. We need to be mindful about the inclusion of religious aspects. These are your strong beliefs, but they are not appropriate for a speech in a school public setting. I know this will frustrate you, but we have to be mindful of it."

Image source: First Liberty Institute

What happened next?

Turner got in touch with First Liberty, and the law firm said it sent a letter to Goldsmith informing her that she's "violating federal law, which permits private religious speech at school events, and demanding that she allow Elizabeth to reference her faith."

First Liberty also said student graduation speeches constitute private speech, not government speech, and private speech is not subject to the Establishment Clause. The law firm added that Turner's statements "do not transform into government speech simply because they are delivered in a public setting or to a public audience."

The letter concluded by requesting that Goldsmith "allow Elizabeth Turner to express her private religious beliefs at the graduation ceremony on June 6, 2021. Please confirm that you agree to our request by Friday, May 28, 2021 at 5PM."

(H/T: Christian Post)

Public HS principal to valedictorian: Mentioning your Christian faith in graduation speech is 'not appropriate.' But valedictorian is fighting back.



A Michigan public high school principal is getting called out by a legal firm after telling one of the valedictorians that mentioning her Christian faith in her graduation speech is "not appropriate."

What are the details?

According to First Liberty, one section of the speech Elizabeth Turner prepared for Hillsdale High School's graduation ceremony next Thursday noted that "for me, my future hope is found in my relationship with Christ. By trusting in him and choosing to live a life dedicated to bringing his kingdom glory, I can be confident that I am living a life with purpose and meaning. My identity is found by what God says and who I want to become is laid out in scripture."

The legal firm said the school's principal, Amy Goldsmith, reacted by highlighting that paragraph, along with a second, and telling Turner that "you are representing the school in the speech, not using the podium as your public forum. We need to be mindful about the inclusion of religious aspects. These are your strong beliefs, but they are not appropriate for a speech in a school public setting. I know this will frustrate you, but we have to be mindful of it."

Image source: First Liberty

What happened next?

Apparently Turner got in touch with First Liberty, because the law firm said it sent a letter to Goldsmith informing her that she's "violating federal law, which permits private religious speech at school events, and demanding that she allow Elizabeth to reference her faith."

First Liberty also said that student graduation speeches constitute private speech, not government speech, and private speech is not subject to the Establishment Clause. The law firm added that Turner's statements "do not transform into government speech simply because they are delivered in a public setting or to a public audience."

The letter concludes by requesting that Goldsmith "allow Elizabeth Turner to express her private religious beliefs at the graduation ceremony on June 6, 2021. Please confirm that you agree to our request by Friday, May 28, 2021 at 5PM."

Anything else?

According to another document from First Liberty, Turner emailed Goldsmith regarding her requested changes and said "unfortunately I don't think I would be able to deliver a genuine speech under those circumstances. I don't agree that we should avoid the topic of tragedy and death because that is part of everyone's future. I understand what you are saying, but for me, this is a time for my peers and I to elevate our lives and to choose how we want to live since we're not promised tomorrow, and I don't want to write a speech that won't be meaningful just to check off the box. I believe it is celebratory to call people to a life of purpose and meaning and a call to action to live a life well. For me, my personal future relies on my faith, and I also want the freedom to be able to address that in my speech if the opportunity arises."

Fox News reported that Goldsmith did not respond to multiple requests for comment.