A 17-year-old high school graduate was not given her diploma on stage after she tried to spread joy and made the crowd laugh.
Hafsah Abdur-Rahman was over the moon as she was about to graduate from The Philadelphia High School for Girls.
When her name was finally called, she couldn’t hide her emotions and danced her way across the stage to receive her diploma.
But when she tried to reach for it, Principal Lisa Mesi told her to walk away and dropped the diploma into a basket by her side.
In an interview with ABC6, Abdur-Rahman said of the incident: “She stole that moment from me. I will never get that again. I was so embarrassed. I couldn’t even enjoy the rest of the graduation.”
According to reports, the principal had told the students and their families that cheering and clapping while the diplomas were given out were forbidden.
The principal also instructed students to ‘walk with style’ on the stage.
Abdul-Rahman’s grandmother, Renee Haniyah Reid, told the Philadelphia Inquirer: “With the climate in the city of Philadelphia, these kids have lost so much.point 315 |
The dynamics have changed.point 23 | And my granddaughter wants to be an entrepreneur, if she’s not going to college, this was her last walk.point 111 | They told me, ‘oh, well, she’ll get over it.point 155 | ’”point 165 | 1
Abdur-Rahman added: “If they thought that I shouldn’t do ‘The Griddy’ across the stage and do the Girls’ High traditions, nobody should have been able to wave or blow kisses or do period signs because I feel like that’s the same thing. I feel like that’s unfair.”
Two other students had their diplomas withheld after family members clapped and cheered.
The school then released a statement after receiving backlash over the incident.
“The District does not condone the withholding of earned diplomas based on family members cheering for their graduates,” it read.
“We apologize to all the families and graduates who were impacted and are further looking into this matter to avoid it happening in the future.”
All three students were given their diplomas after the graduation ceremony.
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments section and SHARE this story with your friends and family!