High School Refuses to Honor A Dead Student At the Graduation She Should Have Walked In

[My Everything]

 

Students, parents, and complete strangers to William G. Enloe Magnet High School in Raleigh, NC are livid after the school board refused to honor a deceased student at the graduation ceremony she would have walked in.

 

17-year-old Rachel Rosoff died last September after she was electrocuted while lifeguarding at the pool she worked at.

 

 

Months later, when her mother reached out to the school to ensure Rachel would be memorialized at graduation, Principal Will Chavis, thanked her for "advocating for Rachel and her memory as a scholar," then refused to include Rachel in the ceremony.

 

 

The principal told Rachel's mother: "Because Graduation [sic] is meant to be a ceremony for students' accomplishments and a celebration thereof, we want to ensure the ceremony maintains a happy, vibrant feel."

 

Naturally, many were upset by these words and in response, Rachel's sister Jordana started a petition to have her sister included, BuzzFeed News reports.

 

"[Rachel's] high school, Enloe, which i too attend, refuses to acknowledge my sister during graduation. They feel it may cause sadness and bring people down on a day that is suppose to be celebratory. They want to pretend she did not exist, which not only hurts me, but my family and her friends," she wrote on the petition page.

 

"This is so hurtful and wrong. I just want my sister to be recognized and acknowledged for the beautiful, goofy, funny, care free, caring person she was. She lived her life in a way we can all learn from, she was truly exceptional."

 

The form now has over 4k signatures, but as of yesterday, the family "still have not heard from anyone from the county schools and still [believes] that the principal is not willing to acknowledge Rachel."

 

If you'd like to sign the petition, click here.

 

Source

[Neoui Oppa]

The principal is gonna catch these hands

[semisomniac]

this just makes me sad because how hard would it be to be respectful and include her at the graduation she would have attended?? why WOULDN'T you honor her honestly the school just looks bad here to me

[crush2NE1]

That is just so wrong.. It's not that hard for them to just acknowledge her death and give their condolences..

[Sharekoube]

it makes me feel so sad reading this

[Joon]

Hmm, if I recall at my graduation, if the parents of deceased children from the graduating class wanted to include them, they were. We had an in memoriam section of the program and held a brief moment of silence. I think parents and or siblings could have elected to receive the diploma as well, but in my graduating class no one did that.

 

It didnt bring down the ceremony in any way. 

[Yknok]

The principal will ignore it and this thing will pass.

 

Like a certain nugu group starting with an L.

[♥SNS-Shinomiya♥]

You know, it's not a requirement or something you ask a school to do. If a student council petitions for it fine but why remind people ( who are there to celebrate) someone died and didn't make it to their graduation

[My Everything]

The principal will ignore it and this thing will pass.

 

Like a certain nugu group starting with an L.

 

 

You know, it's not a requirement or something you ask a school to do. If a student council petitions for it fine but why remind people ( who are there to celebrate) someone died and didn't make it to their graduation

 

[solis]

Hmm, if I recall at my graduation, if the parents of deceased children from the graduating class wanted to include them, they were. We had an in memoriam section of the program and held a brief moment of silence. I think parents and or siblings could have elected to receive the diploma as well, but in my graduating class no one did that.

 

It didnt bring down the ceremony in any way. 

my school did this as well.. i remember one of the families decided to receive the diploma and they even gave a small speech honoring their loved one and it was very touching and didn't bring down the ceremony at all

[♥SNS-Shinomiya♥]

That escalated quickly

[Arthur Morgan]

it seems shitty on the first look but i kinda understand their POV, its supposed to be a very happy moment , being reminded of dead people and stuff isn't helpful. they shouldve included like a physical memorial 

[Tee]

I can't recall if my school did anything in memory of a student in my class who died I think after sophomore year due to cancer (iirc), but it would've been nice.

[Rapmon's Ahjussi Husband]

If the people say yes, what is the principal representing?, his/her fantasy of what his/her graduation never was?, he/she will be checked into reality