Oh... What the Hell...

Wow... wrote this a year ago and never published.  The story is old now, but still worth a read, methinks:
 
So, recent high school graduate Kaitlin Nootbaar from Prague Oklahoma was denied her diploma after having uttered the word "hell" in her valedictorian speech.  The quick story :  She wanted to quote the character Bella Swan from Twilight (1), who in her own fictional valedictorian speech(2) remarked: (on what to do with her life) "How the hell should I know?  I've changed my mind so many times".  Apparently, in the version she submitted for approval, "hell" had been substituted with "heck"... somehow on commencement day, the original word magically showed up.  (reports are inconsistent as to whether or not it was an accident)  Of course, thanks to the internet, this has now become national news - and the freakshow is in full swing.

(It should be noted, Ms. Nootbaar's transcripts have been released to the university she was accepted to, where she will be shortly attending on a full scholarship.  Yeah.)

Okay, I'll admit it... I made the message board rounds.... a couple of times...

What annoys me the most about controversies like this is that people think that one side or the other has a monopoly on the moral terpitude:  He's an egomaniac tyrant /she's a bastion of free speech - or - he's a champion of decorum/she's a deceptive trouble-maker.  Folks, how about the possibility that both sides are drinking from the bad judgement well, albeit with different sized cups?

The people shouting the loudest (3) are the ones who are waving the First Amendment flag... and here's what bugs me about people who shout "Freedom of Speech" - I find them mostly hypocritical.  I mean, when you take into account everything that is protected by the First Amendment, you'll find stuff that is offensive to most people.  And even if you allow people their right to say some pretty gnarly stuff, I'm pretty sure you sure as hell wouldn't want them to say it at a graduation ceremony.  What they are really saying is "I wasn't offended, so you shouldn't be either."

But I'm not talking about Ms. Nootbaar.  In fact, to their credit, I haven't heard the Freedom of Speech defense thrown out by the Nootbaar family.... not yet, at least.  The father thinks the school's actions are illegal, and he's probably right.  It depends on whether or not by "diploma" you mean the status one gains by having fully matriculated through an institution, or the actual physical certificate.  They certainly can't (and haven't) denied the former, but being that the latter is an official document, like a marriage license or a birth certificate, they might not have anything to stand on.  Then again, universities (and everyone else who wants to know about your education) require transcripts, not diplomas.  I don't know, but I have a feeling it's not going to fall in the school's favor.  Nor should it.

The First Amendment crowd like to do as much homework as suits their needs.  In the ensuing discussions that I have been involved with, people have been dragging up Tinker vs. DeMoines and throwing it on the table, which clearly states that students do not check in their civil rights when they enter school grounds.  Unfortunately, they tend to neglect the follow-up cases of Bethel School District vs. Fraser, Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier and Morse v. Frederick which clearly balance the first amendment with a school's "discretion to curtail not only obscene speech, but speech that is vulgar, lewd, indecent or plainly offensive"”

The problem is - define "plainly offensive."

I agree that the word isn't "that bad"  - and yet I would have noted upon hearing it that there are likely a few individuals in the crowd who didn't appreciate it.  Most people giving public addresses avoid that word... especially if they are selling something.  One of my 'adversaries' tried to make the point that young people need to be ready for offensive language in the adult world if they want to survive - siting the famous incident in which Steve Jobs lashed out at an employee with profanity for interrupting a meeting.  To this I replied "Yes... and how often did he use profanity when making a public address?  How often did he use the word "hell" when presenting the next iDevice?  And most importantly - what would he have done to an employee like Ms. Nootbaar, had she been speaking on behalf of Apple, and decided to change an approved speech by one word... especially a word they were specifically trying to avoid?" 


As far as the principal is concerned... well, first of all, let me say that I'm not entirely sure the principal is the one to 'blame.'  I've seen enough if them operate to know that for every "oppressive" move they make, there are a hundred things behind the scenes pressuring them to do so.  I do believe strongly that anyone who did complain about the word "hell"  would not have done so publicly.  No letters to the editor, no blog posts....  they'll direct their malcontent directly to the people they expect to handle it.  If not the principal, to the people who hate bad PR more than colon cancer: the superintendent and/or school board.  Principals are under a crap-ton of pressure on a regular basis.  People complain about what the kids are wearing. People complain about how they bump and grind at the school dances. They complain about the content of the school plays and music concerts.  They complain about what does and does not get published in the school paper and yearbook - it's a constant barrage of unhappiness and bruised egos.  I'm not excusing the bad decisions that get made under that kind of pressure, but I do understand that it makes one a little trigger-happy.

Kaitlin Nootbaar is not a bad kid.  That she has the tiniest bit of mischief / rebellion in her nature just puts her squarely in the category of being a teenager.  It is a quality I would expect to find in others like her.  At the same time, I do fault her for trying to slip this one in.  An agreement, broken by one word, is still a broken agreement.  It caused problems for people she didn't mean to offend, and despite the fact that she feels justified in her stand-off against the school, I bet she regrets that decision.  At least I hope she does.  I don't want to see her 'punished' - but I hope the teachable moment is not lost on her:  When given an opportunity that comes with expectations, don't bite the hand that offers it to you.  Even if it's just a nibble.


1) That should be grounds for yanking her diploma, right there.

2) Can anyone give me a reasonable argument as to why Bella Swan isn't the Queen Elizabeth of Mary Sues?

3) ie. using the most ALL-CAPS typing...