Five high schools in Topeka, Kansas are having a combined graduation ceremony this year at a stadium which holds about 8,000 people in total. Given the number of students, family members, school faculties, etc., ticket availability is very tight.
The graduation ceremony will be held on May 17th, 60th anniversary of the Supreme Court\’s Brown vs. Board of Education case ,which was brought against the Topeka, Kansas school system. Its unanimous decision, that “separate but equal” schools inherently were not equal, resulted in desegregation of United States public schools.
First Lady Michelle Obama decided she would like to make a speech at the graduation ceremony.
The Topeka School Board was thrilled and enthusiastically said “yes”. But a great many students and parents are not thrilled at all, and demand that she not show up.
The reasons? I have no doubt that, for some, they are political in nature. But the overtly stated reasons – that the security necessary for a First Lady to be there will lessen the already-limited number of family members able to attend, and that her presence will far overshadow the students\’ special day – are both entirely valid.
In one woman\’s words, “People think it\’s a great opportunity, but it\’s the graduates\’ time. They are getting that diploma that they worked so hard for. Families are feeling that they are being cheated out of the loved ones special day.”
With this in mind, a student-generated petition to disinvite Ms. Obama has already been signed by well over 1,500 students (one account has the number at over 1,700), presumably with more to come.
Is Michelle Obama co-opting graduation day – the biggest day in many of those students\’ lives? Or should students consider this a great honor and enthusiastically welcome her?
Tough one. But here are two possible solutions which, in my opinion, would eliminate the issue:
1) Ms. Obama makes her speech, live, but on closed-circuit video rather than in person. This would honor the students without eliminating seating availability or overshadowing the graduation ceremony.
2) Ms. Obama comes to Topeka shortly before graduation, maybe even the day before, and speaks at the location of either Monroe Elementary School (where Mr. Brown\’s daughter was forced to go to school and was about a mile from her home) or Sumner Elementary School (the then all-White elementary school, just a few blocks from her home, which she was prevented from attending).
Both alternatives would enable Ms. Obama to commemorate the anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education as a major part of our country\’s civil rights movement, without ruining graduation day for thousands of students.
Will Ms. Obama decide on one or the other of these solutions? I hope so.
