A gay valedictorian spoke from the heart in a speech he prepared for the Eastern Regional High School’s graduation class and their respective families in Voorhees, N.J..
Bryce Dershem stood before his fellow classmates and their families and talked about how his freshmen year as a gay teen led to his loneliness, and then the school principal tried to silence him, The Washington Post reported.
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“After I came out as queer freshman year, I felt so alone. I didn’t know who to turn to,” Dershem said before getting cut off.
The microphone was cut off midway between his speech.
Principal Robert Tull walked up to the podium, crumpled Dershem's speech, and walked off with his script. Dershem said the principal directed him to read a new speech at the lectern that had been written for him, without any mention of his queer identity or mental health struggles.
Fortunately for Dershem, he remembered his own scripted speech, and the audience cheered for him.
“I don’t know why just a reference to who I was warranted being cut off,” Dershem told WaPo. “I was on the verge of tears; I didn’t know what to do.”
Dershem’s speech also talked about remote learning and having to deal with mental health issues amidst a pandemic, including his anorexia and suicidal thoughts. His intentions were to share his story in hopes of inspiring his classmates to believe in their ability to achieve regardless of any obstacle that may get in their way.
“Part of our identity, our year, our struggle is 2021,” Dershem told his classmates from the stage. “We’re still here though. We adapted to something we never thought possible.”
In the week leading up to graduation the school worked with Dershem on edits on his speech. Dershem says they warned him not to mention his struggles as a LGBTQ+ member.
“They start saying things like, ‘This speech is not my therapy session,’” Dershem said.
Robert Cloutier, the superintendent of Eastern Camden County Regional School District, told NBC Philadelphia that administrators always help students shape their speeches before graduation.
“No student was asked to remove their personal identity from any speech before or during graduation,” Cloutier told NBC News.
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After principal shuts down speech, defiant student delivers it anyway | TheHill - The Hill
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