Valedictorian's Critical Speech Cut Off

From Cosmopolitan

Graduation speeches for the Wyoming Area Secondary Center are always vetted and approved by school administration, superintendent Janet Serino told the Times-Tribune on Sunday. So when valedictorian Peter Butera, 18, went off-script during his graduation speech that same day, his mic was cut off and he was removed from the stage.

“Despite some of the outstanding people in this school, a lack of real student government, and the authoritative nature that a few administrators and school members have prevents students from developing as true leaders,” Butera began the end of his speech. “Hopefully, this will change.”

His mic was then cut and the principal got up from his seat to get him to stop. “He said, ‘Alright Peter, you’re done,’ ” Butera told the Times-Tribune. Butera held roles in student council and as class president throughout his time in the school, which led him to notice the aforementioned problems with the administration. “I assume if I went off script and praised the administration it would not have gotten pulled,” he said.

As Butera was escorted off stage, his classmates cheered and someone yelled, “Let him speak!” Superintendent Serino said though Butera was cut off, she arranged a meeting with him after the incident to address his concerns.

Watch his speech (or as far as he got into it) in full above and read the complete version he never got to read in its entirety below:

Butera is headed to Villanova University in the fall.

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