![]() Students participating in the graduation ceremony go through at least one rehearsal of the overall event, with a particular emphasis on the timing of performances and speeches. “Each year, our elementary, middle, and high schools go over graduation/promotion ceremony expectations and guidelines for speeches, presentations, and performances with their graduates, so the students know what to expect during the event. The school district’s remarks, in full, can be read below: In the lengthy statement, the school district confirmed that students are instructed not to make “personal political statements,” but claimed that Moricz’s speech had not yet been reviewed by school officials. WFLA contacted Sarasota County Schools for comment regarding the student’s claims that school leaders at Pine View are threatening to cut off his microphone if he speaks about certain topics during his graduation speech. It is called freedom of speech,” said Covelli. It is against everything that Americans live for. “An educator means you educate, you don’t silence people. It has already gained more than 5,600 signatures.Ĭhristopher Covelli, the vice president of the non-profit group Project Pride, says he’s standing with the teen. The Florida-based Social Equity and Education Initiative campaign launched a petition in response, raising support to #LetZanderSpeak. ![]() “I am the first openly-gay Class President in my school’s history - this censorship seems to show that they want me to be the last.” “A few days ago, my principal called me into his office and informed me that if my graduation speech referenced my activism or role as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, school administration had a signal to cut off my microphone, end my speech, and halt the ceremony,” wrote Moricz on Twitter. Moricz is also one of the plaintiffs named in a lawsuit against the State of Florida relating to its recently signed Parental Rights in Education law, or what critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law, KTLA sister station WFLA reported. He’s set to speak at his upcoming high school graduation, but Moricz claims his principal and school administration officials are trying to preemptively silence him and censor his speech. Zander Moricz is the senior class president at Pine View School in Florida’s Sarasota County.
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