Don’t get me wrong. Complete over reaction by the administration. However, I am certain there was information communicated to her regarding what could and could not be in her speech, and if they have any sense it was also communicated that she wasn’t to deviate from the submitted and approved speech.
It is good to learn early that breaking rules (even the seemingly stupid ones) has consequences.
But again for those that can’t understand the middle ground and only understand complete agreement or complete disagreement I am firmly in the middle on this. What she did was minor but presumably broke a rule. An apology isn’t out of the question. But the administration over reacted and is asking for too much with a written apology in my opinion.
I’ll play Devil’s Advocate here. It may be that there were rules regarding the content of the speech. Maybe she signed a contract that said that if she diverged from the original approved speech that she faced consequences that included withholding the diploma. If so, they still should have let it go, but it kind of justifies things.
I remember how lame some of those Administrators at my High School were. They really loved to use their little bit of power.
If I needed the diploma to start college, I would write a lovely apology and get my diploma. I would then write a followup letter pointing out that forced apologies aren’t worth the paper they’re written on, and that I think the principal is a fool for believing otherwise.
What does she actually need the physical diploma for? I know she wants it so her parents can frame it or whathaveyou, but she’s already graduated and is off to college soon. My response would be, “Keep it then, assholes. I’ll be goddamned before I apologize to you petty dictator chucklefucks.”
Yea, I was ready to be outraged to, until I realized it was just the actual physical diploma they were withholding. In which case, meh. I doubt I could find my HS diploma if my life depended on it. Keeping it from her seems a minor punishment for a very minor rule violation.
Hell, with a scan of a friend’s diploma, a little skill and a good printer, she can print her own diploma, complete with replacing the names to Superintendent Fuckwad P. Shitstain and Principle Asstink F. Cuntylol.
The actual diploma is a worthless piece of paper. She doesn’t need it, and the school can’t deny her graduating or deny her her transcripts. She should tell them to shove it up their asses and move on to college. What silliness.
