TOMAHAWK, WI (WSAU) — The Principal of Tomahawk High School says he has formally apologized to former student Cait Christenson after he didn’t allow the Senior to deliver her graduation speech as it was originally written.
Ryan Huseby tells the Wausau Daily Herald that school leaders will take time over the summer to examine their policies on the time-honored tradition of having students speak at commencement.
Huseby says he values the relationship the school has had with her over the last several years, adding that he is sorry if censoring her speech may have had a negative impact.
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Christenson says her speech was intended to get people thinking about how they treat each other and to encourage those in attendance to ask questions before passing judgment on those who feel they have been wronged. It included references to recent social movements such as Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, and NeverAgain.
School leaders told her that the student speech is traditionally limited to reflections on the class’ four-year journey. When they asked her to re-write it, she chose instead to not give a speech.
Huseby tells the paper the district has heard the support for Christenson’s remarks as they were written and adds that the district will use this situation as a chance to evaluate how it allows students to express themselves in different ways than previous generations have.
