High school senior student Elizabeth Turner of the Hillsdale High School in Michigan was surprised to find out that her school principal, Amy Goldsmith, did not approve of her valedictory speech. Upon reading Turner's speech on a Google Doc, the principal wrote in a note that it was "not appropriate" for the student to explicitly talk about her faith in Jesus Christ in a valedictory speech.
Faithwire reported that Principal Goldsmith had a problem with two paragraphs in Turner's valedictory speech, which spoke of the student's "future hope" in her "relationship with Christ." Turner declared, "By trusting in Him and choosing to live a life dedicated to bringing His kingdom glory, I can be confident that I am living a life with purpose and meaning. My identity is found by what God says and who I want to become is laid out in Scripture."
Principal Goldsmith argued that the valedictory speech could not be delivered with such language because Turner is "representing the school in the speech" and must not "use the podium as [her] public forum." The principal cautioned Turner to be "be mindful about the inclusion of religious aspects." While recognizing that Turner's speech included references to her "strong beliefs," the principal argued that it is "not appropriate for a speech in a public setting."
Goldsmith emailed Turner to raise another concern, this time saying that the speech must not feature "more content of a religious and a focus on death nature." Turner wrote in her speech, "not one of us can be certain of how our lives will unfold, but we do know that trials will come. The reality is that we face an unpredictable future, and while we are making all these plans to prepare, ultimately, none of us are promised tomorrow, making it all the more important to make today count."
Goldsmith believed that this was "problematic." Turner argued that the topics of tragedy and death must not be avoided. She wrote back, "I don't want to write a speech that won't be meaningful just to check off the box."
Turner was represented by First Liberty lawyers Mike Berry and Keisha Russell, who filed a complaint against Hillsdale High School in Michigan, saying that Turner's valedictory address is private and legally protected speech, which is "not subject to the Establishment Clause."
The Michigan school heeded Turner's call and Hillsdale Schools Superintendent Shawn Vondra told WILX10 that she had viewed the speech and concluded that the "speech content is absolutely appropriate."
"The references, the religious references, individual beliefs that are in there are completely appropriate," Vondra concluded after a meeting with Turner and her lawyers. The high school senior is now set to deliver her speech at graduation on June 6.
"We are grateful to school officials for acting swiftly to ensure that religious students can freely exercise their right to express their faith in a graduation speech," Russell said in a statement. "Elizabeth is thrilled that she'll be able to celebrate her graduation without being censored."
Russell added, "We hope that future graduates will be free from religious censorship."
Turner, who is happy at the development, said "I'm grateful I will be able to share my faith with my classmates, and I pray that God uses this situation to advance His kingdom."
