New Jersey high school principal cuts microphone on queer valedictorian’s speech

On June 17, 2021, a high school principal unplugged the microphone during the school valedictorian’s graduation speech, once the student began discussing his struggles with mental health as a queer teen. The principal then approached the podium and confiscated the student’s prepared remarks, leaving the student to finish his speech from memory.

Key Players

Bryce Dershem attended Eastern Regional High School in Vorhees, New Jersey, a suburb of Philadelphia. Dershem described himself as “a formerly suicidal, formerly anorexic queer” in his speech, a confession he hoped woud inspire other struggling LGBTQ+ students, according to The New York Times. Dershem earned top grades in his class and admission to Tufts University. 

Robert M. Tull is the principal of Eastern Regional High School. 

Further Details

On the days preceding his valedictorian’s speech, Dershem underwent a drafting process with Tull, who required pre-approval of Dershem’s remarks. During this process, Tull had told Dershem that references to LGBTQ+ issues and mental health would have to be removed. Dershem submitted many drafts to Tull, which were rejected because the principal said the speech should not be a “therapy session,” NBC News reported. Dershem recalled that Tull asked him specifically to remove all references to queerness or anorexia treatment, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

According to The Morning Call, just days before the ceremony, Tull told Dershem that he would have to change the content of his speech or not be able to speak at all. “I felt like I was faced with this choice where I could either honor all the belief systems and virtues that I cultivated or I could just follow the administration,” Dershem said. After discussing the matter with his family, he decided to give the unapproved speech. 

Dershem approached the stage wearing an LGBTQ+ pride flag over his gown and carrying a paper copy of his speech to replace the speech set for him at the podium, according to NBC Philadelphia. A school administrator asked Dershem to take off the flag, but Dershem refused, The Times reported. He began the valedictory by thanking his friends and family before opening up about his experiences.

“After I came out as queer, I felt so alone. I didn’t know who to turn to,” Dershem told an audience of faculty, family, and more than 450 peers.

Just minutes into the speech, Tull walked behind the platform and unplugged Dershem’s microphone. Dershem suspected that the principal’s intention was to pretend to fix a technical issue, according to The Times.

Tull then approached the podium and crumpled up Dershem’s unapproved speech, NBC Philadelphia reported. Tull pointed to the speech that he had previously authorized Dershem to give. In an interview with The Inquirer, Dersham said that the administration had “essentially written” the speech for him.

Almost immediately, another school administrator brought Dershem a working microphone, The Times reported. Encouraged by the cheering audience, Dershem continued giving his unauthorized speech, this time from memory. He discussed his struggle with suicidal thoughts during his freshman year, and also his time at an anorexia treatment center the previous year. In an interview with NBC News, Dershem said he revealed this information “to make people feel less alone.”

The Eastern Camden County Regional School District defended Tull, arguing that it was typical for principals to assist students in the speech-writing process, and that all speeches must be approved in advance. Robert Clautier, the school district’s superintendent, said, “No student was asked to remove their personal identity from any speech before or during graduation,” according to NBC News. 

Though the school district claimed no wrongdoing, Dershem said in an interview with NBC Philadelphia that, “I did feel censored. I felt as though they were trying to regulate the message I was going to say and take away the parts of my identity that I’m really proud of.”

Outcome 

School district calls for self-evaluation 

On June 28, 2021, Cloutier requested that the school district’s attorney contact a “government agency to conduct an independent review,” USA Today reported. Cloutier said the attorney reached out to representatives of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights at a branch office in nearby Cherry Hill to request an investigation into whether the school had discriminated against Dershem.