Pomp And Nonsense

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First there was the pregnant Alabama senior who was not allowed on stage to receive her diploma (though the father of her child was permitted to). Then there were the students in Michigan who painted over some gay-hating graffiti and were not allowed to attend their own graduation ceremony.

Now there are five Illinois students who were denied diplomas at their commencement ceremony because–wait for it–there were cheers when they walked across the stage. There are rules at the school that were designed to “restore graduation decorum.”

It gets worse. School administrators wanted the five students to track down the cheering audience members. Like it is their job. Like they would obtain an accurate round-up. Like anyone cares.

The students and their parents met with school administators, who agreed to give diplomas to the students if they apologized, even anonymously. They did not.

An attorney for the students is sending a letter to school officials at Galesburg High School, asking the school to apologize and to grant the diplomas. There is the possibility of a court case.

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LESS DREADING, MORE DOING

This is the rubber-meets-road moment: the early days in our first fundraising drive since we took a big swing and merged with CIR to bring fearless investigative reporting to the internet, radio, video, and everywhere else that people need an antidote to lies and propaganda.

Donations have started slow, and we hope that explaining, level-headedly, why your support really is everything for our reporting will make a difference. Learn more in “Less Dreading, More Doing,” or in this 2:28 video about our merger (that literally just won an award), and please pitch in if you can right now.

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