As we were going through the annual spate of high school graduations one high school valedictorian made national news when he deviated from his pre-approved speech and talked about the Constitution and the role God plays in his life. The microphone was ordered cut off in his speech and the principal threatened to derail his appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy.
High school valedictorian Remington Reimer‘s microphone was cut off during his speech because he strayed from the text that had been pre-approved by the school. Why is it that someone who has reached the level of valedictorian needs to have his or her thoughts pre-approved before they speak them?
And to add insult to injury, following the mic-cutting incident Joshua High School principal Mick Cochran threatened to write a letter to the U.S. Naval Academy disparaging the character of valedictorian Remington Reimer.
“It was intimidating having my high school principal threaten my future because I wanted to stand up for the Constitution and acknowledge my faith and not simply read a government approved speech, Reimer said.
Lawyers representing Reimer are calling for the Joshua Independent School District to issue a public statement exonerating him of any wrongdoing.
According to earlier reports the principal threatened to send a letter to the United States Naval Academy advising them that Remington has poor character, or words to that effect.
The principal is now wearing a suitable egg on the face as his boss, the superintendent of the school district, has come out and issued an apology to the Reimer family. The apology does not address the microphone being cut off, but it does address the actions of the principal:
“…I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to (Remington’s father) Todd Reimer and Remington Reimer for any interpretation of a threat by (principal Mick) Cochran in expressing his displeasure at a meeting between Todd Reimer and Cochran following Remington Reimer’s valedictory address. The district has never intended to nor will take punitive action against Remington Reimer for deviating from the prior-reviewed speech.”
Whether Reimer will receive a public apology or not remains to be seen. What’s interesting from the video is that Reimer’s microphone was cut off as soon as he started talking about deviating from his speech; so clearly they knew Reimer was intending to express his right to free speech but silenced him nonetheless. Apparently speech is only free when it’s agreeable to the government masters.
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