An openly gay Florida high school student previously claimed school officials threatened to cut off the mic if he mentioned his sexual orientation in his commencement speech, but he said he had “curly hair.” ‘ as a euphemism for ‘gay’ allowed me to make my preferred speech.
Xander Morich, a senior class president at Pine View School in Osprey, Florida, and the youngest plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging Florida’s so-called “don’t say gay” law, said he was gay. I have been an LGBTQ activist for a long time since coming out. Since the law was passed two months ago, Moric claims teachers are trying to preemptively censor his freedom of expression, no longer allowing him to speak on LGBTQ issues, He states that he cannot admit his sexual orientation in class (even though he brings it up). no prompt).
Moricz is Statement posted on Twitter Earlier this month, the principal of Pine View School warned him that he could not discuss his sexual orientation, past activities, or his role as a plaintiff in a lawsuit. He claimed that the principal had earlier threatened to reprimand him when he was organizing a student strike designed to protest the passage of the “Don’t Say You’re Gay” bill signed by .
The controversial law, formally called the “Parents’ Rights in Education” Act, covers the first grades, or when teaching materials are deemed “age-appropriate” or developmentally inappropriate. prohibits classroom instruction and discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in higher grades. Critics of the law say it simply censors students’ free speech and punishes teachers who are friendly or accepting of LGBTQ students or students with same-sex parents.
Republican legislators in dozens of other states say LGBTQ acceptance is overdone, children are unnecessarily exposed to “sexual content,” and that the presence of LGBTQ people makes them question their identities. I filed a nearly identical bill claiming it could be “confused”. Admitted.
However, Moric reportedly found creative ways to get around the school’s threat to censor him while still getting his point across. The Hill.
“We have to discuss a very public part of my identity. This trait is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think of me as a human being,” he said in his Sunday speech. “As you know, I have curly hair.
“I hated my curls,” he added. “I spent mornings and nights embarrassed by them, desperately trying to fix this part of who I was, but the damage of each day trying to fix myself became unbearable.”
Moricz talked about how she came to terms with her identity as a “curly” student and started attending school as her “authentic self.” He said the love he gets from Pine View’s welcoming community “comes out” in his family.
“There will be so many curly kids who need a community like Pine View, but they don’t have one,” Moritch says. “Instead, they try to repair themselves so they can survive in Florida’s humid climate.”
Moricz said he’s been planning his commencement speech since his freshman year of high school. He has been class president for all his four years.
“Do you think I wanted to be this much?” he asked the audience. “This has to be about this for the thousands of curly-haired kids who will be forced to speak like this for the rest of their lives as students.”
He also urged his classmates to “claim their power” and “give it to those who protect us.”
“The people we empower are the reason why I have to stand here and talk about my hair in my commencement speech.”
“…[W]We must use our shared power. When you waste your power, what you really do is give it to those who already have the most. I’m here for you,” Moritch said.
“We don’t have to deal with this. He said, referring to past examples. “…[W]You can easily save the world. ”
