words of gratitude valedictorian speech

Graduation Thank You Speech

Are you the top achiever in your class? Perhaps an influential figure? No matter what you are, one thing is for sure. The people gave you the platform to express your gratitude because you are outstanding and inspirational. That said, make them even prouder by composing your compelling graduation thank you speech.

10+ Graduation Thank You Speech Examples

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3. Sample Graduation Thank You Speech

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What Is a Graduation Thank You Speech?

It is a thank you speech you give during graduation. It is a type of public speaking that aims to communicate your appreciation of the people who helped you in your way to success. Students deliver this type of speech when they give a valedictorian speech during a graduation ceremony or even in an exclusive graduation celebration with friends and family. 

How to Compose a Rousing Graduation Thank You Speech

There are various types of speeches. Despite that, they all have one thing in common. They aim to influence and affect the emotions and the perspectives of your audience. In the process of essay writing for the draft of your graduation speech, ensure to consider the substantial elements. Doing this would help you determine the best way to talk effectively. 

1. Generate a Checklist of Essential People

Even the purpose of delivering this speech is to thank people you might want to limit the names on your checklist . You don’t want to go on and endlessly mention people you would like to thank. Instead of doing that, you can send thank you cards to the others. That said, you should only include the names of the people that are crucial to your accomplishment. You can mention a teacher, an inspiring friend, or your parents. 

2. Devise an Outline

This step is a basic procedure that speakers take before giving a public speech. In doing this, you should first look for a blank outline template that you think is the most comprehensive. After choosing one, start filling in the bullet points with items that you would like to address in your speech. 

3. Organize Your Ideas

Now that you know the things to discuss, the next step is to organize your ideas. Your speech should have an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Start your talk with an interesting statement that would hook your audience. In the body, you can also tell a story after mentioning the people you want to thank. For your conclusion, you should incorporate an inspiring graduation quote or ask them a question that would urge them to take action in their lives. 

4. Eliminate Trivial Parts

After finishing your speech writing , you should practice delivering your speech with a timer. If it ends up being too long, you should make appropriate adjustments. Opt to eliminate the unnecessary parts. In contrast, if it ends up being too short, you should brainstorm on what to add to your speech. 

What are the don’ts in giving a graduation speech?

One of the things you should avoid doing in delivering your speech is using cliche quotes and lines. Another one is to decide against using offensive jokes that can spoil everyone’s celebratory mood. In addition, do not talk about yourself in the entirety of your speech. Give credit to the people who helped you along the way.

How do you deliver a thank you speech effectively?

One factor that can determine the success of a thank you speech is the connection between the speaker and the audience. Before the event schedule, it is advisable to conduct audience analysis to determine the appropriate methods to implement in your public speech. To command the room, you should incorporate gestures and maintain eye contact with the audience.

What are the various methods of speech delivery?

The categories of speech delivery include the manuscript, memorized speech, impromptu speech , and extemporaneous speech. You can employ these various methods of speech delivery in different situations. For example, in a job interview, you are most likely going to use an impromptu speech. In addition, when giving a public talk, people mostly choose to deliver them extemporaneously.

Elementary, high school, and college graduations are all essential milestones that call for a celebration. Every student worked hard in answering tests and doing projects for that very day. They look forward to wearing their togas and accepting their diploma certificates . Raise their spirits and fuel the fire in their hearts by giving your engrossing graduation thank you speech. 

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Crafting a Memorable Valedictorian Speech: 5 Tips and Ideas

• The Speaker Lab
• February 16, 2024

Table of Contents

Standing at the podium to deliver a valedictorian speech marks a pinnacle moment for high school graduates. While it’s an honor that speaks volumes about dedication and academic prowess, it also carries the weight of expectation.

This guide will walk you through creating a memorable valedictory address. You’ll learn how to reflect on collective milestones and incorporate those unique stories that bind your class together. We’ll explore themes like overcoming adversity and extracting life lessons from your high school years—all designed to leave everyone feeling inspired as they part ways.

Understanding the Valedictorian Speech

In academia, traditions run deep and none stands out quite like delivering that commencement speech amidst fellow graduates. The valedictorian speech is more than just a final farewell to high school. It’s a beacon of inspiration for every graduate sitting in their cap and gown. When you’re tasked with delivering this pivotal speech, remember: You’re not just speaking as an individual; you represent your entire graduating class.

Achieving this honor means you’ve scaled heights academically within your school community. But let’s face it—being top dog isn’t just about having bragging rights at family gatherings or making grandma proud. It signifies commitment beyond individual success—it speaks volumes about what one can achieve with determination.

You’re no ordinary student. As a result, you are now tasked with crafting words that will echo long after tassels have been turned at graduation ceremonies.

Significance in Academic Tradition

In academic tradition, there’s something almost sacred about commencement speeches. After all, they mark both an ending and a beginning. The best ones capture the essence of shared journeys through stories from freshman year fumbles to senior year triumphs—and everything in between.

In addition to recounting these stories of growth and camaraderie, a great valedictorian speech recounts lessons learned inside classrooms and on sports fields alike. As we at The Speaker Lab know, these narratives can shape powerful messages .

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Crafting Your Valedictorian Speech

To strike the right chord with listeners takes careful consideration—you want each word to resonate authentically without falling into cliché traps often heard at graduations. To get you started, here are some ideas on what you might include in your graduation speech . In addition, consider these examples from The New York Times .

Reflecting on Collective Experiences and Aspirations

Weave common threads throughout your narrative—think back row shenanigans or early morning bus stop meetup. Memories like these will draw laughter and nods from classmates who’ve lived these moments too.

You can even reflect on how you’ve tackled challenges like the global pandemic and how you’ve navigated changes like online classes. Events like these have impacted you and your classmates profoundly and they’re worth reflecting on.

Beyond merely recounting achievements, your words should also echo the aspirations and spirit of your high school class. This moment serves as both reflection on what has been accomplished and anticipation for all that lies ahead, uniting everyone under common hope as they prepare to part ways into diverse futures.

Incorporating Personal Faith

Talking about personal faith can be powerful but it’s key to respect everyone’s beliefs. For those from Christian backgrounds, mentioning how God has influenced your journey might resonate deeply. It’s about balancing personal truth with inclusivity—giving thanks without assuming uniformity among fellow graduates.

Universal Values for Collective Inspiration

When delivering your valedictorian speech, try incorporating values that you and your classmates share. This could include anything from teamwork to cooperation, hard work, or perseverance. Brainstorm values that mean something to you personally and then choose themes from that list that will resonate with your classmates as well.

Highlighting Collective or Personal Accomplishments

We all know high school wasn’t just a walk in the park. Think back to freshman year, when everything was new and challenging. You had to navigate not only math class but also social dynamics and personal growth spurts.

This is where your valedictorian speech can shine by highlighting your collective accomplishments. Emphasize how you learned how to work together, transforming trials into triumphs. The moments spent tackling group projects or cheering each other on during sports events show more than your ability to overcome adversity—they showcase your school’s spirit of unity.

Alternatively (or perhaps in addition), highlight personal growth, and the ways you saw yourself and others improve, whether academically or as a person. Whichever approach you take, speaking on the triumphs of high school gives you and your classmates the chance to appreciate the challenges you overcame. By adapting, innovating, and pushing past comfort zones, you and your classmates made it to the finish line: graduation day.

Personal Touches in Your Speech

Your personal growth is another treasure trove for material. Maybe there was an “aha” moment with Mr. Smith, the math teacher who turned numbers into life lessons. Or perhaps Ms. Wilson’s U.S. history class pushed you out of your comfort zone more than once. These individual stories add a personal touch to your speech while granting recognition to teachers who made a positive impact on your high school career.

And don’t forget your fellow students. If you’ve attended your high school for awhile, chances are you’ve made some close friends. Go ahead and give a shoutout to those that made a difference in your life. As valedictorian, you want your words to resonate—to leave everyone feeling seen, understood, celebrated even as they prepare to part ways beyond high school graduation.

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FAQs on Valedictorian Speeches

What should i say in my valedictorian speech.

Highlight shared triumphs, express gratitude, and inspire your peers to embrace future challenges with optimism.

What is a valedictory speech example?

An effective valedictory speech might start by recalling a common freshman challenge and end on hopeful notes about the journey ahead.

How do you make a valedictorian speech unique?

Weave in personal stories that echo the class’s spirit. Use humor wisely and leave them pondering fresh ideas or perspectives.

What is the main purpose of a valedictorian speech?

To celebrate achievements, acknowledge collective growth, and rally classmates for upcoming adventures beyond high school halls.

Delivering a valedictorian speech is an art. It’s your story, your graduating class’s journey, everyone’s milestone. Remember the key takeaways: weave together personal triumphs with shared moments that defined you all.

Reflect on the lessons learned beyond textbooks—those are what will shape you moving forward. Embrace adversity since it taught you resilience and brought out collective strength you never knew you had.

Your valedictorian speech should be more than words—it’s a celebration, an inspiration, a final bow to high school life as you ignite excitement for what comes next. So go forth and conquer!

• Last Updated: February 29, 2024

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Amazing Valedictorian Speech Examples & Tips

Memorable valedictorian speech examples (+ tips & ideas).

Becoming a valedictorian and giving a speech in front of other fellow graduates is a great honor. On the flip side, drafting a memorable speech that the audience will remember for a long time is a huge stress. You need to reflect about four years in high school, choose a theme that will resonate with others, and keep the audience engaged during the entire speech.

To make things easier for you, in this post, our pro speechwriters share the secrets for writing a perfect speech for your graduation ceremony.

Keep reading to find out:

• tips & tricks for writing a great valedictorian speech,
• two speech examples for your inspiration, and
• recommendations for polishing your delivery.

Are you too stressed to write your high school graduation speech? No worries - our experienced speech writers can craft your text from scratch or revise it. We prepare witty, inventive, and attention-grabbing speeches even if you need them by tomorrow. Contact us ASAP to get a free quote and your special student discount!

Good valedictorian speech examples

If you're not sure where to get started, take a look at the example valedictorian speeches to get inspired:

Source:  https://www.sampletemplates.com/business-templates/valedictorian-speech-examples.html

This speech reflects on the unique experience of everyone present and the importance of seeing each day as a learning experience. It also has an inspirational note, encouraging the classmates not to let our self-doubt stand in front of the new opportunities. As any other valedictorian address, it expresses gratitude to teachers, peers, parents, and faculty, and mentions that graduation is only the start of an exciting life.

Source:  https://www.docformats.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Graduation-Speech.png

This concise valedictorian speech congratulates proud graduates and is less formal than the previous one. It emphasizes the importance of education and academic excellence, as well as the friends you made in high school, and ends on a high note, congratulating peers on graduation day and encouraging them to take any path that students want in life.

You can use these examples to get an idea of how to organize your text and what to add. Below, we'll share tips and guidance for writing memorable, inventive valedictorian speeches.

What to say in your graduation speech: Tips & strategies

Good valedictorian speeches share some common elements. They express gratitude for being invited to speak, reflect on shared memories of school days, and look forward to the next phase of life. Here's how to craft a strong high school graduation speech:

Begin with a welcome and gratitude

The opening of your valedictorian speech sets the tone for the rest of your presentation, so it's essential to grab your audience's attention from the start.

Begin your speech by thanking everyone who helped you achieve something in life and guided you along the journey - teachers, students, and parents. This will set a humble, appreciative tone. Congratulate fellow students on their big day and start with an anecdote or an interesting fact.

Choose a theme for your valedictorian speech

Good speeches have a central element that sets the tone. You may use one element for the entire graduation speech, or use two or three, just be sure to keep your speech concise. Reach out to other presenters to make sure that they don't use the same theme as you, otherwise the audience will be bored. Here are some popular valedictorian speech perspectives you can use:

• friends and friendship
• shared memories
• overcoming obstacles and failures
• advice to achieve success
• importance of gratitude
• stories about classmates, etc.

Mention collective experiences

After four years in high school, you and your classmates surely have some interesting stories and experiences. Consider telling about challenges you faced, anecdotes, or stories about important milestones. You can mention both achievements and learning experiences.

Sharing such stories will make your speech personal and human, and also will remind your friends and teachers about the most memorable moments.

Use inspiring quotes

Every great valedictorian speech quotes some accomplished person: Oprah Winfrey, J.K. Rawling, Steve Jobs, etc. A relevant quote helps inspire the audience, better get your message across and surely draws the attention. Use quotes related to education, achievements, professional development, staying true to yourself, and overcoming setbacks.

Reflect on challenges you faced

Your graduating class surely had its fair share of challenges. Recollect the obstacles that the entire class or several students faced and how they overcame these challenges in your valedictorian speech. Such stories highlight resilience and determination, and show the life lessons you learned.

Similarly, you can tell about the shared triumph - winning in the contest or achieving a big goal together. Just be sure to pick stories that matter to your classmates and resonate with everybody. Such stories will inspire your peers to do better and overcome adversity in the future.

Storytelling techniques make any speech better. They keep the audience engaged and make people relate to your message. Weaving in inspirational stories will also remind your peers about the friendship and the importance of events they had together.

Look into the future

Graduating from school is not the end of your academic journey. In addition to reflecting on the past, a good valedictorian speech also looks positively in the future. Encourage your classmates to embrace change, pursue their dreams fearlessly, and make a positive impact on the world. No matter what path they choose, wish well to everyone in your graduating class and express hope for a great future.

Mention the importance of developing their talents and gaining knowledge for achieving success in life. Encourage everyone to grow professionally and personally. Everybody has the power to make a difference, so, you might want to make this a central element of your speech.

End on a positive note

At the end of the speech, recap the key points and remarkable moments you've shared in your address. Remind the audience about the amazing journey you had together. You don't know if you'll cross paths with your classmates and whether you'll go to the same university. So, wish them luck in all future endeavors and thank them for the time spent together.

Consider adding an inspiring call to action as well. Encourage your friends to pursue their dreams, realize their potential, and stay true to themselves. This will leave your audience with a closing statement that exudes optimism for the future and the great opportunities it holds.

Practice delivering your speech

Your valedictorian speech won't captivate the hearts of the audience if you don't show genuine emotions and read it from paper. After you've written your speech, take some time to polish your delivery. Practice speaking it at home in front of the mirror, or deliver the speech to your friends and family.

Watch your body language and use gestures.

Speak in front of the mirror to control your gestures, facial impressions, and other elements of body language. Use specific hand movements, facial expressions, and posture to enhance your message and connect better with the audience. Make sure that your posture and face are consistent with what you are saying.

Pay attention to your vocal delivery.

Use appropriate pauses and variations of tone to make your speech not only informative, but also emotional. Practice speaking in the microphone to choose the appropriate volume of your speech. Record yourself to see shortcomings in your delivery and fix them. Use a positive, hopeful tone to inspire your classmates and leave a lasting impression.

Maintain eye contact.

When delivering your valedictorian speech, you'll need to maintain eye contact to keep your audience engaged. Learn to scan the room and make eye contact with different sections of the audience. If this sounds challenging at first, try looking at the most distant person in the hall and speaking to them.

Mistakes to avoid when delivering your valedictorian speech

When it comes to delivering a stellar valedictorian speech, content and delivery are equally important. Be sure to avoid these common mistakes to leave a lasting impression:

• Don't read your speech  - while using speaker's notes is okay, reading from paper makes a poor impression. It shows your fellow graduates that you didn't take enough time to rehearse and practice.
• Don't rush  - some people start speaking faster when they get nervous. Yet, there's a risk that the audience miss the content of your speech. Practice to maintain a steady pace so that everyone understands your message.
• Don't use little-known facts  - in your speech, use stories that most graduates know and will find relatable. Sharing a story about your friend that anyone knows isn't likely to sound impressive.
• Don't keep it too formal  - leaving high school is an important emotional moment, so being too reserved can spoil the moment. Use genuine emotions when crafting your valedictorian speech - they will surely resonate with the audience.
• Don't overuse cliches  - each bad valedictorian speech is full of cliches. To make your speech memorable, use authentic stories and vivid language. If you struggle to pick the right words, consider working with a speechwriter.

By following these tips, you'll craft a valedictorian speech that reflects your shared journey, motivates your classmates for great things in life, and leaves everyone uplifted and inspired. So, encourage your classmates to strive for excellence in everything and highlight the potential of each individual.

Use storytelling techniques, show genuine emotions, and use an enthusiastic tone to get your speech remembered by everyone.

Let our valedictorian speech experts help and impress your graduating class

Writing and delivering a valedictorian speech is a responsible task. If you feel the pressure or your perfectionism gets in the way, consider getting help from a talented speechwriter. At SpeechPaths, we prepare affordable speeches for any special occasion, including high school graduation.

You'll work one-on-one with a pro writer who will find the right words and use storytellin

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How to Write a Graduation Thank You Speech

Last Updated: March 28, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Patrick Muñoz . Patrick is an internationally recognized Voice & Speech Coach, focusing on public speaking, vocal power, accent and dialects, accent reduction, voiceover, acting and speech therapy. He has worked with clients such as Penelope Cruz, Eva Longoria, and Roselyn Sanchez. He was voted LA's Favorite Voice and Dialect Coach by BACKSTAGE, is the voice and speech coach for Disney and Turner Classic Movies, and is a member of Voice and Speech Trainers Association. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 413,505 times.

Graduation is an important event, and often, people like to use the occasion to thank everyone that supported them through school or a program. However, writing a good graduation speech can be challenging. Keep reading to learn how to write a graduation thank you speech , whether you are speaking to a large audience or simply making a toast at dinner.

Things You Should Know

• Start with a 2-5 sentence introduction that engages your audience. Try using a rhetorical question, quote, or short anecdote.
• Thank your friends, family, and teachers in depth in the body of your speech. This should be about 2-3 paragraphs.
• Conclude your speech with 1-2 sentences that summarize everything you've said so far.

Brainstorming Your Ideas

• If you are talking to close friends or family, address the people you are thanking by name.
• Write down every person or group of people that comes to mind. You can edit this later on.

• Be honest about why you are thanking someone.
• The reasoning here can be very simple. For example, “My history teacher always made me laugh,” or “My mom woke me up every morning” are good reasons to thank someone.
• The more heartfelt the gratitude, the better. Take time to reflect on your feelings.

• Remember, there is no wrong way to brainstorm. Just keep writing.
• Continue to freewrite until you cannot think of anything else to say, and for at least 30 minutes.
• Now, you’ve brainstormed about your speech, so it is time to write it.

Writing the Thank You Speech

• “What are you thankful for?” This is beginning with a rhetorical question, since the audience will not answer.
• As Willie Nelson once said, "When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around." This is beginning with a quote.
• “It was the first day of high school, and I stood outside the door of my first class, scared to go in. On the last day of high school, I left that same door feeling thankful.” This is beginning with an anecdote.

• For example, you can say, “I would like to thank my friends and family for always inspiring me when I felt hopeless.”
• Another example is, “I want to thank Professor Z for helping me choose a major.”
• The body of the speech comes immediately after the introduction.
• Avoid insulting or offending those you are speaking to. Do not vent about problems or criticize others during this speech.

• Another simple example is, “Once again, I am so lucky to have such great friends and family. Thank you.”
• You can end on thanking someone by saying, “The last person I want to thank is my grandma. She was always there for me. Good night.”
• An anecdote is a great way to end a speech, as well as a wonderful quote from the Romans, Victorians, or a world-famous leader. You could also end the speech with your own words of hope and well wishes.
• Keep the audience engaged by inviting them to do something physical. You might say "Can we all stand up?" or "I want you to shout 'I love this life!'"

Practicing the Speech

Sample Speeches

Expert Q&A

• Enjoy the occasion; it happens very infrequently. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
• During the speech, remember to make eye contact and smile. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Practice the speech frequently to lessen your nerves. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

• Remember, while this is your special event and you would like to thank everyone, dragging on can embarrass the people you are talking about and bore the others. Stick to your time limit. Thanks Helpful 6 Not Helpful 1

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Expert Interview

Thanks for reading our article! If you'd like to learn more about giving a graduation speech, check out our in-depth interview with Patrick Muñoz .

• ↑ https://www.alaskapacific.edu/graduation-speeches-show-dedication-appreciation-and-humor/
• ↑ https://uark.pressbooks.pub/speaking/chapter/graduation-speeches/
• ↑ https://www.realsimple.com/work-life/graduation-speech-ideas
• ↑ https://medium.com/@tommygiglio/do-s-and-don-ts-of-writing-a-graduation-speech-259f1ba84c9b
• ↑ https://www.thesaurus.com/e/writing/how-to-write-a-graduation-speech/
• ↑ https://www.hamilton.edu/academics/centers/oralcommunication/guides/tips-for-effective-delivery

About This Article

To write a graduation thank you speech that’s less than 5 minutes long, first write a 2-5 sentence introduction. Make your introduction interesting and engaging by using a short anecdote, meaningful quotation, or rhetorical question, like “What are you thankful for?” Then, write 1-2 paragraphs naming each person you want to thank and explaining why you’re thanking them. Finally, summarize everything you’ve said in a 1-2 sentence conclusion that refers in some way to your introductory story, quotation, or question. To learn how to brainstorm ideas for your graduation thank you speech, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Inspiring Valedictorian Speech Examples to Help You Write Your Own

Most of us remember delivering a speech in front of our classmates during graduation, whether as salutatorian or valedictorian.

While inputting the right facts and research can be challenging, it’s important to make sure that your graduation speech is inspiring and motivating. Afterall, this is the last time you see many of your class mates, so you want your message to have an impact.

That’s why we’ve compiled some of the most memorable and inspiring valedictorian speeches. Review these examples to get ideas and help you craft your own unique speech. With thoughtful words and effective storytelling , you’ll be sure to make a lasting, positive influence to your classmates!

Reflecting on Our Journey

Throughout high school our journey of self-discovery and growth has been a constant.

As we look back on our journey, it’s important to recognize the significant role that memories have in helping us shape our lives and define who we are. What we reflect on can be both uplifting and humbling while inspiring us to strive for further success.

The more we reflect on our past experiences, the better able we are to learn from failures and successes alike. This not only helps us acknowledge our accomplishments, but it also gives us perspective and insight into how far we’ve come as individuals.

Reflecting on our journey is an opportunity to celebrate the best moments of our years in high school, from sports victories to unforgettable conversations with friends. It also allows us to appreciate all that we learned during those formative years that has helped shape the person we have become today.

It’s natural to feel hesitant about taking time out of a busy day to look back on our individual paths.

But it is a beneficial exercise, even if viewing the past causes painful emotions or overwhelming feelings of nostalgia. Reflection helps us fully appreciate what was achieved and reminds us to take time out of our daily routine for introspection.

Now that we have taken the time to reflect on our individual journey up to this point in life, let’s take a look at some of the notable accomplishments made by members of our class. In the next section, we will examine how remembering some of these triumphs can help provide insight into future goals and ambitions.

Remembering Our Achievements

The valedictorian’s job is to honor the successes and hard work of the graduating class. This can be done by looking back at our collective achievements over the past few years.

From faculty members to peers, remembering everyone who contributed to our success encourages a sense of gratitude and pride in our accomplishment.

One option for doing this is by recognizing special accomplishments or awards that were earned during our time together.

Names can be called out and stories can be shared , only if appropriate and welcomed by those mentioned. It is important to check with anyone beforehand if they are comfortable being publicly remembered in such a way.

It could also be done through sharing meaningful interactions and experiences with classmates. Narratives about how we have learned from one another and grown together remind us of all that we have accomplished, both as individuals and as part of a collective body.

Finally, it may be beneficial to recall moments of progress and growth throughout all of our years in school. Celebrating, even our smaller triumphs along the way further highlights the successes that brought us here today.

Remembering our achievements serves as a reminder of all the hard work our graduating class has put into their education and provides an opportunity to give credit where it is due.

Let us take this moment to pause and recognize everyone who was involved in ushering us here to this milestone moment in time. Now let us transition into celebrating our success as we look ahead at what is possible for us next on our journeys beyond this pivotal rite of passage.

Celebrating Our Success

When it comes to delivering the valedictorian speech, an important element is celebrating our success. The idea of celebration can take on different forms, from lightheartedness to a more serious acknowledgement of a job well done.

It’s up to individual taste as to how you as the valedictorian choose to celebrate and recognize your peers’ many accomplishments that brought you all together.

For those who prefer something more humorous and attractive to the crowd, celebrating with jokes or funny stories that have become part of the shared history of the graduating class can have a greater impact than simply citing general successes.

It shows familiarity and genuine appreciation for the special moments you’ve had with your peers that has led to your combined achievement.

Others may choose a more solemn tone, thanking their entire class for their hard work and dedication over the years which enabled them all to come so far in their respective fields.

This kind of approach also has its merits, as it adds a level of gravity to the speeches, conveying real admiration and gratitude amongst graduating students.

No matter which route one takes, celebrating success has long been an integral component in setting graduation ceremonies apart from everyday life.

As such, valedictorians do not only recognize the accomplishment of graduating classes but also the memories and stories held within their hearts that made it meaningful. Following this section about celebrating our successes, we’ll now discuss how we can look ahead to the future.

Looking Ahead to the Future

It’s perfectly natural to spend some time looking back and reflecting on our successes during the past few years, but when it comes to speeches, valedictorians should also look ahead.

Looking ahead creates a sense of direction and hope that can be shared with the other graduates, reminding them of all of the future possibilities that lie ahead. It also helps to encourage graduates to set goals for themselves and strive for a brighter future.

When talking about the future, many people have conflicting views on whether tackling hard challenges or taking risks should be considered a positive outlook.

On one hand, some would argue that taking risks can lead to incredible rewards and great opportunities. On the other hand, others may point out that the cost of taking too big of a risk can be very costly in terms of time and money spent.

However, instead of debating which side is right or wrong in this scenario, it is more important to focus on how graduates can prepare themselves for whatever life may bring their way.

Valadictorians can use their speech as an opportunity to challenge their peers by inspiring them to make proactive steps towards achieving their dreams – no matter what obstacles they may face along the way.

This may include setting goals apart from just focusing on academic performance; such as staying active, forming meaningful relationships and continuing to learn new skills.

Furthermore, valedictorians can talk about any struggles or set-backs they faced during their journey and about how perseverance eventually played a role in helping them reach their desired outcome – which could serve as an inspiration for those listening .

Overall, by looking ahead and encouraging their peers not just to take risks but find ways to proactively approach their future endeavors, valedictorians can get across an important message – even if it’s through leaving a graduation ceremony with mostly unanswered questions – that they are ready for the next step and up for the challenge.

With these thought processes in mind, let’s now look towards how we as individuals can set goals and understand the power of embracing each challenge head-on.

Setting Goals and Embracing the Challenge

It is no secret that words have the power to both motivate and to inspire. As graduating seniors, now is the time to reflect on our successes, our failures, and the many challenges we have faced in high school.

It can be easy to move onto the next step in life while leaving the past behind us; however, it is important that we acknowledge our individual growth and progress.

Having goals helps us to stay focused on what we set out to achieve. Presenting a detailed outline of your life’s purpose can help to keep you motivated and inspired throughout future milestones.

Remind your classmates that setting goals is essential for any success and should include listed plans; such as attainable academic objectives, personal fitness goals, financial milestones and career aspirations. Making achievable short-term objectives also allows you reflect on your progress as you reach them one by one.

Embracing challenge gives us an opportunity to enhance skills , learn from our mistakes, gain mental strength and resilience, improve problem solving capabilities and explore new ideas that just may lead to something great.

Even though a challenge may be uncomfortable or difficult, sometimes taking risks are necessary for growth. Highlight those times when everyone tried something unexpected out of their comfort zones and how they overcame their fears into becoming confident individuals who tackled anything that came their way because they weren’t afraid of failing.

Demonstrating this important message will help your classmates recognize that push through hard things in life; there are so many more opportunities waiting for them once they continue down this path in life until eventually reaching their end goal!

Through setting achievable goals paired with embracing the challenge of not knowing the outcome, we can take control of our own paths rather than allowing our futures to follow whatever route happens along the way.

Let your classmates know that every step taken in order to achieve something great adds up over time which is why it’s important not to give up no matter how long or hard it may seem! Now onto saying goodbye…

Saying Goodbye to Our Classmates

Saying goodbye to our classmates can be a hard task for any valedictorian speaker. On one hand, we want to express our gratitude for all the time shared together and the memories created. We have supported one another through difficult times and celebrated our successes together.

All of these experiences have brought us closer and given us the strength to overcome anything that comes our way.

On the other hand, some may argue that it is important to move on from this chapter in life and looking forward to what lies ahead in the future.

After all, every good ending paves the way for new beginnings and this could very well be a start of something great. It’s essential to take all these emotions while saying goodbye – sadness, happiness, excitement – and expressing them through an emotional yet motivating valedictorian speech tailored specifically to your graduating class.

These arguments aside, a valedictorian speech is not complete without expressing both appreciation and hopefulness of what lies ahead. To craft a memorable farewell speech that resonates with your classmates, you must include everything mentioned above and show your utmost sincerity in thanking your peers.

Armed with these sentiments, you can now put pen to paper for an example valedictorian speech that is sure to capture and move your entire audience.

An Example Valedictorian Speech

An example of a valedictorian speech can illustrate the harmonious combination of humor and humility, storytelling and self-reflection that creates an inspiring speech.

One such valedictorian speech was delivered by Valedictorian Avery June of Elmore County High School, who told moving stories about growing up in rural Alabama and the profound impact her teachers had on her success.

She poignantly noted that while she had pride in her own accomplishments, they were only part of her journey. Her understanding of the influence of her teachers and peers was instrumental in creating a sense of community and school spirit.

At the same time, not all good valedictorian speeches will be purely reflective or serious. There is a place for levity and humor, as demonstrated by another example valedictorian speech – given by Australian Valedictorian Tom Alchin from St Ives High School – which bravely mocked both himself and his school’s teachers to much applause.

He reminded the entire assembly of their shared accomplishments despite any internal disagreements – ultimately leading to contagious positivity and celebration. By using a humorous approach , he embodied the spirit of togetherness amidst any differences between individuals at the school.

These examples show how effective an inspiring valedictorian speech can be when rendered correctly – walking a fine line between self-reflection and levity without sacrificing either ambition or collaboration.

From these examples we can see how a valedictorian speech can set the tone for celebration while showing admiration for our schools’ greatest resource – its people.

In the next section, we’ll explore further examples which showcase proud alumni stories as well as advice on representing our schools with pride during a valedictorians speech. With this in mind, let us turn to exploring how we can be proud ambassadors for our schools during our own special day.

Being Proud of Our School

When it comes to delivering a powerful valedictorian speech, there is nothing more powerful than a heartfelt thanks and recognition of the school that you attended.

Every academic institution has unique features that set it apart from other schools, and as such, being proud of your school should play a prominent role in any valedictorian speech.

While everyone takes pride in their individual successes, acknowledging one’s school can be just as important—possibly even more important. Students should take time out of their speech to thank their school, students, teachers, administrators, and staff.

Doing so will provide an opportunity to show gratitude, recognize all those who have helped along the way, and provide an optimistic outlook of what the future holds for each student’s home school.

In addition to thanking components of the school community, valedictorians should also use their speech as an opportunity to speak about specific qualities about their home institution that makes it special.

Depending on the size or focus of the school (i.e., public vs. private), there may be some unique aspects worth mentioning from curriculum to diversity. Being able to recognize these qualities during a person’s valedictorian speech will serve as a direct compliment to the entire school community and provide validation for all its efforts.

It is important for a valedictorian to keep in mind though that not every criticism leveled against one’s school needs to be addressed during this time—instead, focus solely on what makes it great and why you chose to spend your time there.

Bring up positive stories or anecdotes if pertinent and while providing constructive criticism can be useful in other contexts and situations like alumni mentorship panels or boards of trustees meetings, remember that using your valedictorian speech is not really the place or time for it.

At the end of the day, no matter how much one does or does not agree with certain aspects of their school’s policies or traditions taking pride in where one went to high school should be sincere and heartfelt before anything else. With this in mind, being proud of our school should be at the center of any inspiring valedictorian speech!

In conclusion, crafting a memorable valedictorian speech can be an intimidating task. However, taking the time to plan out your speech and focus on elements such as tone , storytelling, and timing can help to make your valedictorian speech stand out.

Additionally, you should consider practicing in front of an audience or recording yourself ahead of time so that you can get comfortable with delivering your speech in front of a larger group.

Ultimately, a great valedictorian speech will take time and effort. But by utilizing inspiring valedictorian speeches as examples and paying close attention to the style and delivery of your own speech, you’ll be able to craft a meaningful and memorable valedictorian address for all to enjoy.

Frequently Asked Questions and Responses

What is the expected format of a valedictorian speech.

The typical format for a valedictorian speech is to first thank everyone involved in making the event possible and congratulate fellow classmates on their accomplishments. This can be followed by a brief reflection on the past four years, including any challenges that have been faced, before transitioning into an inspirational message about the future. The conclusion should include a memorable quote or saying to sum up the main themes of the speech.

In terms of structure, it is important to begin with an attention-grabbing statement , introduce topics in an organized manner, use vivid language and thought-provoking examples, and end with a strong conclusion . Additionally, it is important to vary sentence length and speak at a moderate pace so that your audience will remain engaged and follow your message.

How can I make sure my valedictorian speech is effective and impactful?

Making sure your valedictorian speech is effective and impactful requires you to be organized and creative. Before writing a word, brainstorm themes that represent your personal experience in the best light. Once you’ve identified your core message, you can begin structuring the speech in three parts: an opening statement, the body of the speech, and a closing.

When crafting your opening statement, use humor and heartwarming anecdotes to grab the audience’s attention. Opening statements should have a strong emotional connection with everyone in attendance.

The body of the speech should emphasize your core message by examples from your own life or experiences in high school. Try using visual aids such as pictures or videos to drive home key points in your presentation. Additionally, include quotes from educators, authors, politicians, or other influential figures to add depth to your delivery.

Finally, wrap up with a call-to-action for attendees to take away from the ceremony. End by expressing gratefulness for being selected valedictorian, for having been granted the opportunity to attend school with peers and teachers who have shaped their journey thus far.

By building an emotional base at the beginning of the speech and staying organized throughout, you can ensure that your valedictorian speech is both effective and impactful – regardless of how many people are present!

What are some tips for writing a valedictorian speech?

1. Think carefully about your topic. Consider what would be meaningful and inspiring to your classmates as they prepare to transition into the future. Take time to brainstorm ideas and narrow down your focus until you come up with something that stands out.

2. Get organized. Once you have chosen a topic , create an outline that divides your speech into sections, beginning with an introduction, body, and conclusion. Develop your main points and make sure that each one is addressed within each section of the outline .

3. Start writing as soon as possible. Begin drafting the body of your speech , utilizing concrete examples when possible to make it relatable and memorable for your peers. You can always edit your work later, but getting started is key in order to finish on time.

4. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Reach out to teachers or other members of the school community who may have advice or feedback on how you can improve your speech before delivering it. Even if they are not familiar with valedictorian speeches specifically, they may be able to provide insights on writing or public speaking in general that will benefit you as you create your address.

5. Practice, practice, practice ! Rehearse your speech in front of friends and family until you are comfortable speaking it aloud from memory; this will help build confidence and give you the chance to iron out any issues before taking the stage at graduation day .

How to Write a Graduation Speech as Valedictorian

A good valedictory speech takes preparation and practice

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The valedictory speech is a staple of graduation ceremonies. It is usually delivered by the valedictorian (the student with the highest grades in the graduating class), although some colleges and high schools have abandoned the practice of naming a valedictorian. The terms "valedictory" and "valedictorian" come from the Latin valedicere , meaning a formal farewell, and this is core to what a valedictory speech should be.

Understand the Goal

The valedictorian speech should fulfill two goals: It should convey a "sending off" message  to the members of a graduating class, and it should inspire them to leave school ready to embark on an exciting new adventure. You likely have been chosen to deliver this speech because you've proven you are an excellent student who can live up to adult responsibilities. Now it's time to make every student in your class feel special.

As you prepare your speech , think about your shared experiences with the class and the people with whom you shared them. This should include popular and quiet students, class clowns and brains, teachers, principals, professors, deans, and other school employees. It's important to make everyone feel as if they played an important role in this shared experience.

If you have limited experience in certain aspects of school life, ask for help in collecting important names and events you might not know about. Are there clubs or teams that won prizes? Students who volunteered in the community?

Compile a List of Highlights

Make a list of highlights of your time in school, putting more emphasis on the current year. Start with these brainstorming questions:

• Who received awards or scholarships?
• Were any sports records broken?
• Is a teacher retiring after this year?
• Did your class have a reputation with teachers , good or bad?
• How many students remain from freshman year?
• Was there a dramatic event in the world this year?
• Was there a dramatic event at your school?
• Was there a funny moment everyone enjoyed?

You might need to conduct personal interviews to learn about these benchmarks.

Write the Speech

Valedictory speeches often combine humorous and serious elements. Start by greeting your audience with a "hook" that grabs their attention. For example, you could say, "Senior year has been full of surprises," or "We're leaving the faculty with lots of interesting memories," or "This senior class has set records in some unusual ways."

Organize your speech into topics describing these elements. You might want to start with an event that's on everyone's mind, such as a championship basketball season, a student featured on a television show, or a tragic event in the community. Then focus on the other highlights, putting them into context and explaining their importance. For example:

"This year, Jane Smith won a National Merit Scholarship. This may not seem like a big deal, but Jane overcame a year of illness to achieve this goal. Her strength and perseverance are an inspiration to our whole class."

Use Anecdotes and Quotes

Come up with anecdotes to illustrate your shared experiences. These brief stories can be funny or poignant. You could say, "When the student newspaper printed a story about the family who lost their home to a fire, our classmates rallied and organized a series of fundraisers."

You can sprinkle in quotes from famous people as well. These quotes work best in the introduction or conclusion and should reflect the theme of your speech. For example:

• "The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again." (Charles Dickens)
• "You will find the key to success under the alarm clock." (Benjamin Franklin)
• "There is only one success: to be able to spend your life in your own way." (Christopher Morley)

Plan for Time

Be mindful of the appropriate length of your speech. Most people speak about 175 words per minute, so a 10-minute speech should contain about 1,750 words. You can fit about 250 words onto a double-spaced page, so that translates to seven pages of double-spaced text for 10 minutes of speaking time.

Tips for Preparing to Speak

It's important to practice your valedictory speech before giving it. This will help you troubleshoot problem spots, cut boring parts, and add elements if you're running short. You should:

• Practice reading your speech aloud to see how it sounds
• Time yourself, but remember you may speak faster when you're nervous
• Focus on remaining calm
• Put aside comedy if it feels unnatural
• Be tactful if broaching a tragic topic you feel needs to be included. Consult a teacher or adviser if you have any doubts.

If possible, practice your speech using the microphone in the location where you'll be graduating—your best chance might be just before the event. This will give you an opportunity to experience the sound of your magnified voice, figure out how to stand, and get past any butterflies in your stomach .

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Valedictorian Speech: How to Write a Valedictorian Speech

So you did it! You graduated at the top of your class. Now you have to write your Valedictorian Speech. However, since this is the first (and only) time you will ever do it, you may not know exactly how to write a valedictorian speech . You are not alone. Just about every Valedictorian or Salutatorian has gone through this. You work very hard to get to the top, and now you have five minutes to educate, entertain, and inspire your classmates. And, of course, the task is so much easier because your classmates are so accepting and non-judgmental. (Yeah, right!)

Well the outline below can show you step-by-step how to write a Valedictorian Speech (or Salutatorian Speech). This is the final part of our five part series on How to Design a Presentation . In the previous posts, we have covered how to persuade an audience , best practices for a commencement speech , and wedding toast tips . So, check out any of the other posts for additional details.

A Few Tips About How to Write a Valedictorian Speech

Before you get started with your speech, it is a good idea to Create a Theme for Your Graduation Speech . Take a look at the later half of the previous post about Graduation Speeches for ideas on possible themes. Basically, the theme is the overall point or inspiration of your speech. If you start with a good theme, all of your stories, jokes, and inspirational quotes will mesh well together.

• Start with Some Humor

(This might work if you are really short or if your friends don’t really think of you as athletic.) I remember the first time that I saw an NBA game on TV. I was memorized. The players were so big, so talented, and so athletic, that I was just hooked. I remember, jumping off the couch and running to my dad and shouting, “Dad, when I grow up, I’m going to be an NBA star!” My dad just rolled his eyes and said, “Son, graduation is tomorrow night, why don’t you just work on your speech.”

(This one works well if a superhero movie was popular when you were a kid.) I remember the first time that I saw the Batman movie. He was so cool and so rich that he could spend his nights fighting crime. I knew then and there what I wanted to be when I grew up. I jumped off the couch and ran to my mom shouting, Mom, when I grow up, I’m going to be Batman.” My Mom looked me dead in the eye and said, “You graduate next week. Stop trying to get out of delivering that speech.”

Alternatively, just tell a funny story from your experience at school. These stories are easy to prepare, and they will help you reduce your nervousness when speaking. (Stories are easy because they add some humor and are easy to remember.)

• A Fun Way to Create a Kind Of Nostalgia Feel is to Recount Things Seen in the Four Years

One of the fun things about High School is the life-long memories created in these years. If you want a little inspiration, download the old Billy Joel song, “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”

For example, you might say something like… “Since we walked into this school as freshmen, we have seen smartphone apps that help people recover from strokes. A millionaire TV star was elected president. Our baseball team won district for the first time in 22 years. Mr. Jones lost a lot more hair. (I think a lot of that was as a result of the stress that I put on him. I apologize sir.) Etc.

This type of recitation is unique to a Valedictorian or Salutatorian speech. Keep in mind that, although you are the person speaking, you are really a representation of the entire class. So, the more that you help the class relive the good times, the more that they will like your speech.

• Add an Inspirational Quote Followed by a Story From Your School Experience

If you want to continue with a little more humor, you can quote a “lyrical poet” (pop star). Although by quoting a song, you can add some humor. However, if you pick a good lyric, you can make your presentation inspirational as well. For instance, if you say something like, “One of my favorite lyrical poets… Lorde, once said, ‘If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough.'” Just make sure that the lyric is clean. (Remember, your grandma is in the audience.) Alternatively, you can pick a real inspirational quote or even a movie quote. (Just Google inspirational quote or inspirational movie quotes.) For a list of 30 song lyrics that you can choose from, visit this LifeHack article .

The most important part of this section of your speech, though is to tell a good story about your experience in school related to the quote. Although this article is about how to write a Valedictorian speech, remember that the speech is really about the entire class. So, a story that your classmates will relate to will work best. So, if you happen to use the Lorde quote, then just think about a big accomplishment of the class. Then, show how that accomplishment occurred because we dreamed big and the process was uncomfortable. So, if the baseball team won the district championship, use that. If the One-Act-Play team made it to State, then use that story. In fact, if you pick a good quote, you can use a series of some of the best accomplishments of the entire school as your evidence that the quote is true.

• End With a Call to Action

If you used the Lorde quote about dreaming big earlier in the speech, then you might end with a similar quote from a famous person. You might say something like…

Walt Disney once said, “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” So, class of [YEAR], go on to the next stage of your life with courage, and dream big enough so that is a little bit scary along the way!

There is No Magic in How to Write a Valedictorian Speech

Just remember that there is no magic pill that will help you create a great graduation speech. However, if you follow the steps above, the process should be easy and fun. If you use any of the tips, make sure to comment on the post or on our podcast. We’d love to hear how the process worked for you.

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How to Write a Meaningful Appreciation Speech

Updated 09/9/2022

Published 06/15/2020

Kate Wight, BA in English

Contributing writer

Cake values integrity and transparency. We follow a strict editorial process to provide you with the best content possible. We also may earn commission from purchases made through affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more in our affiliate disclosure .

There are many ways to show someone that you appreciate them. You can buy them a gift. You can write them a thank-you note. And in some cases, you can give a speech in their honor. There are plenty of occasions when you may find yourself in a position to give an appreciation speech.

Jump ahead to these sections: 

• Steps for Writing an Appreciation Speech

Sample Appreciation Speeches

If you’re graduating from high school or college, you might give a speech thanking friends and family members for their support.

If you own a business, you might tell your employees “ thank you for your support ” as part of a speech. Speeches can also be a great way to say “ I appreciate you ” to the people in your life who support you.

Here, we break down the steps that go into crafting an excellent appreciation speech. We also include excerpts of speeches from an assortment of occasions and audiences to draw inspiration from. 

Step 1: Know Your Audience — And Your Place

Your speech will depend on a variety of factors. But the most important ones to consider are the setting and the crowd. If your speech is a casual toast between friends over a bottle of wine, it will be a lot more casual.

You can rely on personal anecdotes and the language you use will be more personal. If you’re giving a formal speech in front of colleagues though, your tone will be very different. Your speech will be a lot more structured and concise. 

Step 2: Create an Outline

Whether your appreciation speech is long or short, it’s always a good idea to craft an outline ahead of time. This will help you make sure you don’t forget to mention anything you want to cover. Overall, most speeches will break down like the following:

• Introduction: In an introduction, you will let the audience know who you are and give a preface of what you plan to say. For instance, if you’re recognizing a specific person in an appreciation speech, give a quick rundown of why they’re worthy of appreciation.
• Body: Here, you’ll flesh out the points you made in your introduction. You can give more specific examples of things the subject of your speech has done, and you’ll expand on why those actions deserve gratitude. 
• Conclusion: In this final section, you can reiterate the points you made earlier in the speech. 

Step 3: Grab People’s Attention with Gratitude

Start with a strong opening line. In a more formal speech, a quote about gratitude can be an excellent way to set the tone. In a more casual speech, you can avoid a quote. However, you should still stick with the theme of gratitude.   

Step 4: Be Personal and Specific

In casual and formal speeches alike, you should feel free to be specific. If you’re giving a speech in honor of one person, you can list all of the things they do that deserve appreciation. If you’re thanking other people for their support, you can list the ways they helped you.

Personal anecdotes are a lot more engaging for listeners. They will also help you feel more connected to your material. The more connected you feel, the more confident you’ll be in speaking. These personal anecdotes can be funny, poignant, or a blend of the two. Again, this will largely be dictated by your audience and the setting of your speech.    

Step 5: Practice Makes Perfect

For a casual speech like an appreciation toast, you can probably get away with speaking off the cuff. But any kind of pre-planned appreciation speech definitely benefits from repeated practice.

The more comfortable you are with the speech, the easier it will be for you to deliver it. If you don’t know your speech inside and out, there’s a good chance that you can be tripped up by certain words or turns of phrase. 

Step 6: Time Yourself

When you’re practicing your speech, you should also be timing yourself. This means you should have a stopwatch going while you read your speech aloud. Speeches can be deceptive.

A few pages don’t seem like they should take that long to read. If you only read them over in your head, that can reinforce the notion that your speech isn’t that long. But it takes a lot longer to read something aloud than it does reading it to yourself.

If you don’t practice it out loud ahead of time, you may panic in the middle of your actual delivery. If you fear your speech is taking too long, you might start to read faster and faster, which could make the speech incomprehensible. Practicing it out loud can help you hit your ideal time target without having to rush.   

Step 7: Keep Your Notes Handy

Even if you’ve practiced your speech until it’s practically etched into your brain, you always want to keep notes or an outline with you. No matter how much you practice, you may find yourself freezing up in the moment. If you don’t have notes handy, you might flounder. On the other hand though, you also shouldn’t keep your whole speech with you.

If you do, you might find yourself relying on it like a security blanket. You may end up just reading the whole speech straight from the paper without engaging with your audience at all. Both ends of the spectrum are too extreme, so it’s best to find a happy medium. Some people just keep their outline with them.

Other people write out the first sentence of each paragraph to jog their memory and help them orient themselves. As you practice, you’ll find the method that works best for you.

Step 8: Do a Test Run in Front of an Audience

Practicing for a speech on your own is important. But once you feel more comfortable with the speech, you should practice in front of someone. Ideally, you’ll rehearse it in front of people several times until you can keep your nervous responses in check.

This means delivering the speech without your heart racing and your speech speeding up to match.   

Step 9: Weed Out Any Trouble Spots

Every time you practice your speech, you should be refining it until you can’t improve it any further. One of the big things you should be looking out for is your usage of filler words or speech disfluencies.

Speech disfluencies encompass those little noises like “um”, “er”, and “uh” that we tend to use when we aren’t confident. These can make people tune out because your discomfort makes them feel awkward in turn.

As you practice, pay attention to places where you’re inserting those disfluencies. Keep practicing them until you become comfortable enough to leave them out. Or, rewrite those sections so they come to you more naturally.  

Step 10: End On a Good Note

Above all else, remember that this speech is intended to be a positive thing. An appreciation speech should make someone’s day .

Remember to end the speech by reaffirming specifically why you are showing appreciation.    

Now that we’ve gone into what makes a good appreciation speech, let’s see some examples. These are just excerpts from longer speeches, but they may help demonstrate the sort of content you might be looking for. 

Example of appreciation speech for graduation

“As I look around at all my classmates, I realize how much I appreciate you all. Many of us have relied on each other to make it through school and to our graduation day. We supported each other during tough times. We used each other’s examples to fuel us towards getting better grades. When someone was in danger of not graduating, we pulled together to get everyone to the finish line. We all owe a lot to our families for their support. But we should also be sure to appreciate ourselves.” 

Example of appreciation speech for friends

“I’d like to take a moment to raise a glass in appreciation for Bethany. Everyone here has one thing in common — Bethany’s friendship. She has always had an uncanny knack for finding people in need of a community and bringing us together. From there, we’ve been able to find the other things that connect us. But if it weren’t for Bethany, most of us would have missed out on enriching, life-changing friendships. Bethany — here’s to you!”

Example of appreciation speech for employees or a boss

“As the year draws to an end, I’m proud to announce that it’s the company’s strongest year yet. We have grown by leaps and bounds and still managed to maintain profitability. Our client satisfaction scores have never been higher. And each and every one of you has played a role in our success.

"I want to thank our sales division for going above and beyond in meeting our clients’ needs. I want to thank our marketing department for creating materials that are very transparent about our mission. I want to thank the managers for leading their divisions by example. I could stand up here and tell you a half dozen things I appreciate about every person in this room, but I’m sure you’re all ready to hit the buffet line. So I’ll conclude by saying that I appreciate all of your contributions, and am so proud to be on a team with each and every one of you.”

Example of appreciation speech for mom, dad, grandma, or grandpa

“Hello everyone! I’d like to thank all of you for coming here today in celebration of Grandma Joy and Grandpa Bill’s 50th wedding anniversary. As most of you know, I’ve never had a relationship last more than a year. Fifty years is an absolutely mind-boggling level of commitment to someone like me. 

"There are so many reasons to love and appreciate Joy and Bill. There’s all the basic grandparent stuff. Joy taught me how to make amazing cookies and Bill taught me how to change a tire. But they also took me in when my home life was less than ideal. And when they realized some of my friends also had difficult lives at home, they opened up their den as a safe space. On any given day, you could find at least two or three misfit teenagers sleeping on their fold-out couch. 

"Grandma and Grandpa, I’ll never be able to let you know how much I appreciate you. I know you probably don’t think you even did anything special. But you have made so many lives worth living thanks to your compassion and generosity. Thank you for always being there for others, just like you’ve been there for each other for five decades.”

Show People You Appreciate Them Through Meaningful Speeches

There are many ways to show gratitude . An appreciation speech is just one of them. Whether you’re giving a short toast or a lengthy speech, you can communicate your gratitude for someone.

These steps and examples should help you craft an excellent speech. Ultimately though, just remember to be sincere and personal. That’s the real key to successfully showing appreciation. 

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• Condolences & What To Say

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High School Valedictorian Speech Examples

Finally, the day has arrived when you’ve to say bittersweet goodbyes and embark on a new adventure. Graduating from high school might seem like a whirlwind experience, but it surely leaves one with infinite memories, invaluable lessons, and strong friendships. No matter how hard it was, you did it and made it this far. So, it’s a time to celebrate and raise a toast to all the hard work, guidance, support, and love without which it was not possible at all. 

Being a valedictorian is a moment of pride in itself but it also becomes your responsibility to make this day as memorable and exciting as it already is for everyone. In order to help you craft your impactful and captivating graduation speech, we’ve compiled a comprehensive guide that includes all the essential factors followed by examples that give a better idea of how these elements seamlessly come together within your speech. So, what’s holding you back? The moment is here, let’s get to work and make an everlasting impression.

How to write a high school valedictorian speech? Crucial elements to focus on

Graduation holds immense significance in a student’s life. It is a day to not only celebrate the achievements but also to reflect and embrace all those experiences when you overcome challenges, learned lessons, shared laughter, and created endless memories.

However, when it comes to addressing everyone on the stage on this day, it can be overwhelming as well as terrifying at the same time. To make sure, you nail your valedictorian speech and make this a memorable day for yourself and for everyone, check the following crucial points to keep in mind while drafting your speech:

• Address the guests: Though, it is a common point but is the important one. Before starting any speech, always address the audience. Use professional and respectful words while addressing them such as respected, worthy, esteemed, honorable, etc.
• Thank everyone: As the day of graduation marks the completion of the journey of high school, there are these important people without whom graduating was not possible. So, before talking about anything else, be thankful to them. Let them know how their valuable contributions have made a positive difference in your life.
• Express gratitude: Whether it is about challenges, lessons, or memories, be grateful for all you’ve acquired in these four years. No matter what, all these instances have played a vital role in shaping the individuals you’re today. So, express your heartfelt gratitude in a genuine and wholehearted way. You can share some instances and connect with the audience to prove your point.
• Add humor: Nothing can beat the impression created by sharing laughter in between your long speeches. You can add jokes or share any funny moment while addressing your fellow graduates. This will help you build more connection with them leaving a long-lasting impression of your speech. 
• Motivate for their future endeavors: As you’re going to take a new big step towards your career, add a few lines to inspire all students. Motivate them to take difficulties, and failures as an opportunity to learn and grow. For this, you can add any graduation motivational quote or can share any incident where you and your friends learned a significant lesson while trying to face and overcome the challenges. Try to evoke this feeling of conquering the world through your powerful words.
• Every end is the beginning of a new journey: Though graduation is a happy day, however, it does bring with it a sense of nostalgia and bittersweet feelings. As this is normal for people to feel this way, you can connect with them by acknowledging these emotions and encouraging them for what lies ahead. Inspire them that graduation is not the end but a beginning of a new chapter with lots of adventures to experience. You can also add a quote about life after high school here to motivate them for their new journey.
• Wish all luck and express excitement for a new journey: Conclude your speech by congratulating them on their achievements and extending well wishes for a new adventure. Show excitement and enthusiasm to cheer up the students and leave an unforgettable impression.

Given the above guidelines and strategies, presented below is an example of a valedictorian speech. Read on to get a better idea of how to write an effective graduation speech by ensuring that you’ve incorporated all the essential elements.

“Every time you were completely convinced you couldn’t possibly go on, you did!

And today you’re here, and way more to go.”

Worthy principal mam/sir, honored guests, teachers, parents, and my fellow graduates, A very good morning/evening to all of you. Today, as we all have gathered here to celebrate and mark the completion of our high school journey, I am grateful to be standing here as the valedictorian of graduating class of _____. It is an honor for me to represent each one of you here and express those unheard mixed emotions of gratitude, joy, nostalgia, and accomplishment.

First and foremost, I would like to pay our heartfelt gratitude to our great principal mam/sir under whose guidance and directions, we could learn and flourish. You have enriched our journey with valuable lessons that will be a guiding light in our future. 

We are thankful to our teachers and mentors without whom we could not have come this far. You all have transformed this rollercoaster ride into smooth sailing by supporting and cheering us throughout. Your dedication, hard work, knowledge, and support has shaped the individuals we are today. Thank you for believing in us every time even when we doubted ourselves.

To our pillars of strength, our parents and families, thank you for all the love and care that kept nurturing us to learn and grow. We owe this day to your endless sacrifices, constant encouragement, and unwavering hard work and support that made sure everything we need is there in place.

As we prepare to step into the next chapter, I am grateful for the challenges we’ve overcome, the friendships we’ve forged, and the memories we’ve created to cherish them for life. Whether it is late-night study sessions, helping with assignments, or cheering each other at sports events, we’ve built a bond that will remain with us for a lifetime. 

My dear fellow graduates, 

“Take pride in how far you’ve come. Have faith in how far you can go. But don’t forget to enjoy the journey”  

We all have our own passions, story, and capabilities which will lead us in our own different paths. So, remember to embrace this individuality as your own superpower and take failures as opportunities for growth. With this limitless potential in ourselves, let’s face the world with courage and determination, and give our best to make our parents, teachers, and school proud of us. 

These four years have contributed enough to prepare us for our future endeavors. Let us carry with us the values and lessons we have learned. Let us strive for excellence and knowledge and try to make a positive difference in whatever we do. 

As popularly quoted by Helen Mirren 

“You will stumble and fall, you will experience both disaster and triumph, sometimes in the same day. But it’s really important to remember that like a hangover, neither triumphs nor disasters last forever.”

At last, as we’re going to take our next step toward our future, I want to express my profound gratitude to each one of you. You all have made this journey into a beautiful and memorable dream. Let us embrace the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead of us and shine bright making our dreams a reality. 

Thank you, everyone, and once again Congratulations class of year ______. We did it!

Don’t cry because it’s over; smile because it happened

Honorable Chief guest, Respected Principal mam/sir, worthy teachers, a loving family, and all my dear friends.

Today marks the most important day in all our lives. Standing here in front of you all as the valedictorian of the class of year ______, my heart is full of pride and gratitude for this incredible opportunity to address you all. 

As I reflect back on our journey, there are these irreplaceable figures without whom this would not have been possible at all. Throughout these four years, our principal mam/sir, teachers, and mentors have been the guiding light. Beyond helping us with the curriculum and equipping us with the required knowledge, you’ve constantly encouraged us to keep working hard, explore beyond the walls of the classroom, and reach our full potential. Thank you for your tireless efforts, dedication, and support due to which this journey seemed less intimidating.

If there’s anyone who knows and understands us on an emotional and personal level, then it surely has to be our parents and families. Whether it is to cheer us on the sidelines, wipe away our tears, or celebrate our achievements, we are grateful to have you by our side always. It is your love, sacrifice, and encouragement that keeps us going and today we’re here ready to take a step towards building our dreams. 

My fellow graduates, We’ve gone through a lot in these four years which has shaped the individuals we’re today. From overcoming the challenges to exploring our passions, we’ve learned valuable lessons and made memories for life. As this journey of self-discovery has taught us the power of resilience and hard work, let us embrace the challenges and failures that lie ahead of us as opportunities to learn and grow.

“It does not matter how slow you go as long as you do not stop” – Confucius

Through this time, we’ve seen each other in every highs and lows and have been there to support or help in any way possible forging great friendships for a lifetime. No matter, where you are, or what you are doing, remember that we all are unique in our own ways. We all have our own strengths, talents, and perspectives. So, let’s try to build a community where everyone is welcome and no one is judged by a pre-determined set of standards. 

In this competitive world, be kind and helpful. Let’s hold on to our values and lessons learned, and strive to make a difference. In the end, Many many congratulations class of year ____. Cheers to us and the incredible potential that lies within us. I wish you all good luck in your future endeavors. The world awaits our brilliance, creativity, and commitment to make it a better place

Wrapping up

Graduation may mark an end to the high school journey but it sets the foundation of your future endeavors. High school is the time that has helped you realize your full potential, so, on the day of graduation, reflect on all those experiences and express your gratitude to all those who have made a difference in your life by adding their valuable contributions. 

Out of all the speeches high schoolers have heard in these four years, valedictorian speech has the most impact on everyone. So, be careful while drafting it, and make sure you do not miss out on any point since this will be the last time you’ll be addressing these people. Go through the above guide and start working, after all the stage is all yours now.

Sananda Bhattacharya, Chief Editor of TheHighSchooler, is dedicated to enhancing operations and growth. With degrees in Literature and Asian Studies from Presidency University, Kolkata, she leverages her educational and innovative background to shape TheHighSchooler into a pivotal resource hub. Providing valuable insights, practical activities, and guidance on school life, graduation, scholarships, and more, Sananda’s leadership enriches the journey of high school students.

Explore a plethora of invaluable resources and insights tailored for high schoolers at TheHighSchooler, under the guidance of Sananda Bhattacharya’s expertise. You can follow her on Linkedin

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Valedictorian Speech Says Goodbye To School, Hello To The Future

The person in a graduation class with the highest GPA or record of achievement is known as the valedictorian. They typically make a speech at graduation that bids goodbye to classmates, thanks the schools and teacher on behalf of the class, and offers inspiration.

At high school graduations, the valedictorian , the person in the graduating class with the highest GPA or record of achievement, speaks for the class about their high school years and the exciting journey ahead.

This valedictorian speech should be positive and uplifting and have anecdotes of the journey through high school as well as thoughts on their future.

Table of Contents

How Is The Valedictorian Usually Selected?

An academic title, the valedictorian is the highest-ranked student among the students graduating. In addition to considering grade point averages, some high schools look at the types of classes taken to ensure the title goes to the most academically minded individual in that year’s graduating class.

Giving extra points toward the GPA to honors or Advanced Placement classes is called a weighted grade scale.

What Is The Purpose Of A Valedictorian Speech?

The valedictorian speech serves a few purposes:

• Builds excitement about what is yet to come for the graduates
•  Bids farewell to the graduating class
•  Reminisces about the high school journey
•  Thanks those who have helped the class get to where they are today

How Do You Introduce Yourself In A Valedictorian Speech?

As with any public speaking, it is best to introduce yourself early in the speech. Start with a greeting, such as “Welcome family members, friends, and my fellow graduates. My name is Pam Berg, and it is my honor as the valedictorian of our class to have this opportunity to share some thoughts and memories of our journey through high school together.”

What Do You Say (and Do) In A Valedictory Speech?

One thing to keep in mind as you plan what to say in your speech is that a valedictorian speech should be between five and ten minutes long. There are many essential aspects to good speech writing and delivery. Here are some tips:

• Amusing Stories:  While you should avoid telling jokes that may fall flat and fill space, do tell amusing stories from your graduating class. As valedictorian, you might use a story with a bit of self-deprecating humor to help the audience relate to you and loosen up from the start.
• Make Eye Contact:  If you are concerned about getting nervous and forgetting to keep eye contact , practice looking up periodically. A tip to help you remember is to put highlighter dots every so often throughout your typed speech.
• Practice:  Sometimes, you don’t want anyone to hear your speech until you give it, but you can still practice. You can either practice in front of a mirror or record yourself.
• Remember Transitions:  Remember to have transitions from one story to the next so your speech flows.
• Shared Experiences:  Stories should not be all about you and your group of friends. Focus on shared experiences.
• Significant Events:  Many times, a graduating class has experienced unique things together. On a graduation day that I distinctly remember, one of the speakers reminisced about how the entire class had the opportunity to see the Broadway musical  Hamilton  as sophomores. That is an excellent example of something to reminisce about. If your class has had a loss, it is okay to mention that person. Just try not to dwell too long on a sad event like the death of a classmate.
• Smile:  Everyone looks better with a smile on their face. Remember to smile!
• Speak from the Heart:  Just trusting your gut and speaking sincerely is always good advice.
• Thank People : When you thank people think globally. You are not the only grad who is where you are due to family, friends, and staff.
• Type the Speech:  To make it easy to read off of your notes, it can be helpful to print your speech in a larger font than you would normally use.

What Is The Difference Between Valedictorian And Salutatorian Speech?

The salutatorian is the person with the second-highest grade point average in the school. It is customary for the salutatorian to give a welcoming speech. They speak to everyone at the graduation ceremony to give a welcome on behalf of the graduates. Both graduation speeches have important purposes and recognize the hard work done by both the “val” and “sal” throughout high school.

Although the salutatorian is less likely to tell stories about the high school journey, it is appropriate to share an inspirational quote and offer thanks to staff and fellow students.

What Should A Valedictorian Speech Not Do?

• Alienate Anyone: Make sure that you don’t say anything to alienate portions of your audience. Everyone should feel important and represented.
• Focus on Yourself: The high school valedictorian speech is not all about you (or your friend group).
• Read off the Paper: While it is smart to have notes, remember you are giving a speech, not reading an essay. Eye contact is crucial.
• Speak Negatively: Keep the message positive.

Valedictorian Speech Examples

Alexander Stone’s speech does a lovely job of balancing his personal anecdotes with advice for the class. Notice how he makes excellent eye contact, uses famous inspirational quotes, and keeps pulling in the audience with his words.

In this second video, a non-verbal autistic student Elizabeth Bonkers delivers the Rollins College commencement address.

A former English teacher and currently an elementary principal in a rural school, Pam has honed her speaking skills in the classroom and before professional groups. Pam enjoys sharing her insights about public speaking almost as much as she enjoys running, which she does daily.

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Embrace the Grace: A Graduation Speech

In his commencement address to the Class of 2018 at Assumption College, Nipun Mehta talks about three core values that have guided his path and offers some context from his personal journey.

Est. reading time: 17 minutes.

Surrender isn’t a sacrifice of the known, but rather a celebration of the infinite.

What a great joy to be with you on this special day. Thank you, Dr. Carmen Valdes, Miss Ana Lim, distinguished staff and colleagues, and the larger Assumption family. And to you, the graduating class of 2018 — congratulations! Assumption College might be the only place where two alumni have gone on to become president of the country, many alumni go on to become pioneering entrepreneurs, and numerous alumni go on to become nuns!  What an honor to be here in a space that encourages such a wide spectrum of value for society.

Nipun Mehta offers commencement address to the class of 2018 at Assumption College

Now, usually, commencement addresses are meant to affirm that you have the grit to conquer the world. But that’s not sufficient for a class that chose its motto to be: “Trailblazers: Catalysts for Transformation”.  Trailblazers have to go one step further — beyond conquering the known, they have to step into the unknown and embrace the infinite.  

Today, I want to tell about three core values that have guided my path towards the unknown, but before I do that, let me first offer some context about my personal journey.

I have to admit that I came to “trailblazing” by accident, in a roundabout way. I grew up in the Silicon Valley, where innovators are constantly trying to “disrupt the world with exponential technology”. Everything is exponential. In the span of a few decades, a computer chip the size of your fingernail can now fit 30 billion transistors. That’s exponential processing power. In the last two years alone, we have recorded more data than in the entire human history. That’s exponential data. We are now writing software that writes software. That’s exponential intelligence.  Radio took 38 years to reach 50 million users, and Android operating systems got there in a mere 18 months. That’s exponential pace. And the point of all this exponential capacity is to do the impossible. Here’s a quick snapshot of some headlines this month — “Uber Announces Flying Taxi”, “Robot Judges to Help With Court Cases”, and “Gmail Will Now Auto-complete Whole Emails.”

I discovered that technology’s quest towards the unknown requires us to accumulate more and more control, whereas growing in virtue requires an altogether different capacity: more and more surrender.

On the surface, this disruptive technology also invites us to be a trailblazer into the unknown. Think big, think fast, think impossible. You do it simply because you can.   In many ways, I was a product of that culture. Yet, at some point in my early twenties, I shifted from what — to why. That led me to apply that logic to a very different set of questions. What do  exponential love , exponential forgiveness, and exponential kindness look like? Silicon Valley didn’t have an answer for that, so I had to expand my search in  other directions .

And I found something startling. I discovered that technology’s quest towards the unknown requires us to accumulate more and more control, whereas growing in virtue requires an altogether different capacity: more and more surrender.

I remember, many years ago when I was a student at UC Berkeley, I was returning back from my computer science lab. It must’ve been 3:30AM. Feeling a bit groggy, I decided to go for a run. On my way home after the run, half-conscious half-sleepy, I found myself in a dark alley with an intimidating man staring at me in the distance. His hands were tucked underneath a newspaper, with what appeared to be a concealed weapon. All of a sudden, a thought paralyzed my mind, “I am going to get mugged.” Fight or flight? I couldn’t fight because the man was clearly much bigger than me, and I couldn’t run because I was trapped in an alley. Only way out was through. And just in that moment, with fear running through my veins, I had this radical magnanimous thought: “What if that was my brother? Before he even takes anything from me, I will just offer it with great love.” In place of panic, a euphoric love overtook me. I felt giant. A man I saw as a threat now felt like my kin. As I passed him, I was no longer thinking fight or flight. Another way had just opened up — love. Instead of avoiding eye contact, I looked him straight in the eye. I smiled. And to my utter surprise … he smiled back. I reached home in safety.

Maybe nothing was going to happen that night, but after that experience, I knew it in my bones that love is a stronger force than fear. Yet, I could never tell anyone how it happened. Was it the gentleman, or the million other conditions that led me to be in that moment at that very time, with that very mindset?

As I initially practiced the art of surrender, I felt like I was letting go. But rather quickly, I saw that I was also letting come, letting “in”. Without my asking, life offered with great abandon.

In any moment, we have a choice in how we greet life. Either we meet it with a clenched fist or an open palm. Control or surrender. Either as a problem to be solved, or a mystery to be lived. Control was, and still is, very much in fashion. Society applauds us with affirmations like, “You really know what you’re doing,” or “You really know where you’re headed.” Yet, I have learned that it is an open palm that invites us to surrender to a dance with a much larger web of life.

In my early twenties, I let go of my need to grow my bank balance, and I let in a capacity to grow my heart. That’s how I started ServiceSpace. When I was 29 and embarked on a walking pilgrimage, I let go of my comforts and let in a far greater intelligence. When I let go transactions, I let in trust. In my early thirties, when I got married and let go of my independence, I let in the beauty of interdependence. Not having charged for my labor for more than fifteen years, I learned that in letting go of price-tags, I let in — the priceless.

Surrender isn’t a sacrifice of the known, but rather a celebration of the infinite. Sooner or later, we see the futility of fitting the glorious spectrum of our human experience into a neat little algorithm. You no longer try to scheme deals with nature. When the ego moves from the driver’s seat to the passenger seat, you not only enjoy the ride but become aware of the vast conspiracy of the universe to drop you at the doorsteps of greater good. With an effortless bow, you let go that which is leaving, and you let in all that arrives.

Such a grand mystery of life is not meant to be traced backward. It must be lived forward.

Today, I want to leave you with three qualities, three G’s, that have lighted my journey in living it forward.

The First G is Generosity.

“It is in giving that we receive.” ~ St. Francis of Assisi

The best part about generosity is that we don’t need to learn it. We simply need to unlearn greed. Science confirms that we are innately wired to give, even before we learn about words and concepts. Every time we give, we experience a “helpers high” as our bodies release oxytocin, dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin; our immunity improves, stress decreases, social relations deepen, life expectancy ramps up. Let alone helping others, just witnessing acts of kindness releases biochemicals in our body that make us happy. British researchers have even shown that a  single smile , just one smile, can provide the same level of brain stimulation as eating loads of chocolate. (Okay, maybe I won’t share that with my wife).

St. Francis of Assisi, of course, illuminated this principle long time back: “It is in giving that we receive.” And perhaps in receiving, we keep paying it forward in an unending virtuous cycle. The more you give, the more you want to give.

Guri and Nipun Mehta on their walking pilgrimage across India.

The biggest barrier to giving is a cultural one. Back in 2005, my wife and I went on a walking  pilgrimage  across India, where, for a thousand kilometers, our survival depended entirely on the kindness of strangers. It was a life-changing experience. Yet, one of the most commonly asked questions we used to get was, “You don’t have anything. How can you give?” And I would counter question, “Does that mean I was born bankrupt? That first I have to accumulate to give?” Clearly, that’s an absurd proposition. We practiced generosity by helping an old man lift his haystack, picking up litter on the streets, listening to people’s struggles, telling stories to the village gatherings.

To adapt Rumi’s quote, “There are a thousand ways to kneel and serve the world.” It doesn’t require learning anything new. We just need to listen to our inner voice.

Just a few months ago, we held a retreat with people who were differently-abled. Some were visually impaired, some were deaf, some couldn’t speak, some on the autism spectrum, some in a wheelchair. It was a truly remarkable experience, but what particularly stood out for me was a coffee break. “Friends, we have about 15 minutes to go out and grab a drink,” the organizers announced. The only catch was that we were all going to be blindfolded. All of a sudden, murmurs of chaos spread across the room. Most of us in the room had no experience of walking without vision. And then … almost as if on cue, the blind among us took the lead. “Hey, we can get you through this. Just hold onto to the person next to you.” They knew exactly where the other experienced blind folks were located, where the door was, where we needed to get the drinks. Everything. Someone even ensured that special care was given to those in wheelchairs, who were doubly constricted. And just like that, a phenomenal human chain appeared. I say appeared because it was completely spontaneous. “Step, step, step”, instructions were given, as the murmurs spread from person to person, across the entire chain. Not only did we get our drinks, we returned back with ample time to spare.

My dear Trailblazers, go create that human chain of generosity. Know that the size and the type of giving make no difference; what matters most is that we respond to our innate call to give and connect.

Second G is Grace.

The beauty of grace is that it comes unannounced, in the most unsuspecting ways.

With each act of giving, we create a silent affinity with those who receive our offerings. Over time, those individual strands form an intricate web of interconnections. As we learn to trust the intelligence of that field of blessings, grace grows.

Photo by Manfred Richter

First time I got to be in TV, right after I started ServiceSpace in my twenties, was a live-interview on CNN International. You always wonder, “How do people get on CNN?” It turns out, they just email you. And you write back. So I did, and I had this interview. On the way to my hour-long drive to the interview, it so happened that my car engine, in the middle of the freeway, just died. The engine just shuts off. I mean, you know your car is going to die at some point, but you just wouldn’t figure it would happen on your way to your first TV interview on CNN! And did I mention it was LIVE?! So here we were. I rolled the car into the emergency lane, and we called my Dad who rushed out to get us. It was unclear if we were going to actually make it on time, as my brother and I sat silently in the emergency lane. Just as I was watching my breath — going in and going out — I noticed a little flower blooming in the cracks of the highway. “If it was any other moment,” I thought to myself, “I would think that flower was beautiful.”

And just then, I asked myself, “Why not now? What’s wrong with this moment?” In a flash, I realized that none of this was my show. I didn’t start this organization, I didn’t ask to get on TV, I don’t have any interest in growing the movement. It’s all emerged. So why worry now? All of a sudden, I felt like an instrument. Almost as if a spigot was opened, all my anxiety flushed out. I relaxed, looked at the flower and smiled. It really was beautiful. Turns out I made it in time for the interview, barely — holding the paradox of emptiness and fullness, humility and confidence, I felt like a million bucks, and the interview created remarkable ripples for the future of ServiceSpace.

Today, however, after all these years of effort, I feel that I had my ratios mixed up. I see ninety percent, perhaps even more, of life as a result of inexplicable grace.

Despite such experiences, however, when I was in college, I lived as if 90% of life is earned through my effort. Sure, there was this 10% of unexplained serendipity, but that felt incidental. My emphasis was on my effort. I worked very hard in school, once taking 40 units a semester in college — more than a dozen classes! Aiming to play professional tennis, I put in so many hours on the tennis courts that my coach would often tell me, “Nipun, don’t try so hard.” Perhaps in subconscious ways, I was trying to earn brownie points from society — a society that gives accolades for how much we win, how much we know, how much we accumulate, how much we control.

Recently, I was walking down the street and found a five dollar bill. It made me think about my relationship to something I hadn’t exactly earned. It so happened, that a young person emailed me that very day and asked, “What advice would you give your 16-year-old self?” I wrote this paragraph in response:

“You will be taught to work hard, to drive your destiny, to make something of your precious life.   That’s valuable, but don’t forget that underneath the waves of your effort lie the undefinable laws of the ocean.  Listen carefully because these laws won’t be as loud as the commercials on TV; they will instead whisper with the poetry of serendipity.  That five dollar bill you find on the streets, don’t ignore it just because you haven’t earned it. Respect it. When reverence becomes the crucible for the subtlest accidents of life, grace will be the sunshine that will wake you up every morning.  Grace isn’t deserved or undeserved, understandable or mysterious, pain or pleasure. It simply is — and it is aligned with the laws of nature. May you live a life of grace.”

If we are willing to look, stalwarts of such grace are all around us.

Mother Teresa, for example, used to run 400 centers in 102 countries around the globe. But she never kept any cash reserves. None. One my friends, Lynne Twist, was very close to Mother and asked about her fundraising strategy. Mother simply smiled and said, “I just know how to pray.” Now, by conventional means, here was a CEO of a large operation, telling us that she doesn’t know how the money was coming in. And she’s not worried in the slightest! She’s not worried, because she is an instrument of nature. Her strength comes not from what she knows, but from her surrender that begets an ongoing grace. In her own words, “I am but a pencil in the hands of God.”

My dear trailblazers, go become a pencil in the hands of the universe. Genius is typically seen as a static property of an individual, but what these wisdom keepers teach us is that it actually flows dynamically. The flute offers us a melody, precisely because it is hollow. Be that empty instrument for genius to flow through you.

Third G is Gratitude.

Our aliveness is a measure of our awareness that everything — the good, the bad and the ugly — is a gift.

With generosity, we build the field; with grace, we trust in the intelligence of the field’s interconnections; and lastly, with gratitude, we become aware of the field.  We see that, in fact, everything is a gift.

Br. David Steindl-Rast. Photo courtesy of Diego Ortiz Mugica

I’ve had the privilege of knowing a 92-year-old Benedictine monk, Brother David Steindl-Rast. One time, incidentally when we ran into him on the streets of Assisi, we engaged in a deep conversation over dinner. “Is it true, Brother David, that you don’t ask for anything, as a general practice?” I asked. “Yes,” he replied. “St. Benedict established the order with a clear teaching: Ask nothing, refuse nothing.” One of the principles of ServiceSpace also is to not fundraise, to not seek in that way. Inspired by its direct resonance with ServiceSpace principles, I inquired, “Brother David, you’ve been practicing this for sixty years. What have you learned from this practice?” He responded, “Well, you learn to be in the present moment and to be grateful for what you receive.” “But what if what you receive is suffering?” He smiles and says, “That’s not possible. You may experience pain, but suffering is always optional.”

All too often, we reserve gratitude for circumstances that end in our favor. But what Brother David is pointing us to, is a far deeper wisdom. Our aliveness is a measure of our awareness that everything — the good, the bad and the ugly — is a gift. Even in those moments of suffering, where we forget that a caterpillar struggles only to become a butterfly, there is a grander goodness that cradles our existence.

One of my very dear friends is a  guy named Pancho , who is involved in many grassroots causes. A few years ago, at the Occupy movement, when there was a risk of violence, he decided, as he says, “to step up his non-violence.” He started meditating in front of City hall in Oakland to bring some calm energy to the chaos. However, the police didn’t see his intention and arrested him. When they arrested him, his offense ironically read, “Disturbing peace.”

In the prison, when they shackled him up, he looks to the woman doing her job, and says, “Sister, you’re too beautiful to be doing this work.” The woman breaks down. In his jail cell, his motion was restricted. Lights are constantly on. Every hour, the door would slam open for a check-up. The bathroom is right in the corner of your cell. It was downright filthy. In short, a pretty dehumanizing place. On top of it, he’s a vegan so the only food he could eat was an orange. So, in four days there, he had four oranges.

No matter what the circumstance — even if our hands are tied up and we’ve been in prison with one orange a day — we can always find a heart of gratitude.

Yet, he saw it all as a gift. He felt grateful and wanted to pay it forward. At one point, the prison guards gave him a pouch with a toothbrush and few basic amenities including a small paper and pencil. The next day, the prison guard sees him sitting quietly with his eyes closed and a smile on his face.”Hey, what are you doing?” they ask him. “Just self-care,” he says. By the next day, the guards are used to that and come by to take a selfie. On the third day, Pancho, who has befriended the guards, simply by the virtue of his gentle peace, asks the guard: “Hey, can I get another one of those pouches?” They obliged him. And on Day 4, before he’s about to be released, Pancho, with all his constraints, cleans up the whole cell and on that extra piece of paper, he writes: “Dear Brother, you don’t know me but I want you to know that I love you. I was in the jail cell before you, and I cleaned it for you. Now you’re it. If you’re so moved, you can also do the same the person who comes after you.”

Our entire existence is indeed a gift. Scientists now tell us that during the Big Bang, a finite supply of cobalt was generated. Were it not for this cobalt, human beings simply couldn’t exist. From cobalt in our bodies to the blood in our veins to oxygen in our every breath, how can we ever pay back our debts of gratitude?

We can’t pay back. But we sure can pay it forward.

My dear Trailblazers, go shower the world with your gratitude. Not just a superficial gratitude when nature aligns itself with your plans, but an unconditional gratitude for the mere joy of being alive.

While the media invites us to take refuge in narratives of greed and grit, I hope you will remember the gentle power of generosity, grace, and gratitude.

Unfortunately, the world you are inheriting is a bit wounded. But it’s nothing that your creativity can’t handle. While the media invites us to take refuge in narratives of greed and grit, I hope you will remember the gentle power of generosity, grace, and gratitude — and how they strengthen each other into a virtuous cycle that can heal us.

You are our great hope to midwife humanity to its next plateau.  We expect today’s leaders to have answers, but trailblazers, I hope you will also have profound questions. We expect today’s leaders to be in control, but trailblazers, I hope you will also abide in the strength of surrender. We expect today’s leaders to be great speakers, but trailblazers, I hope you will also become great listeners to grace.  We are calling on you, the next generation of women leaders, to create a radically new field initiated by your acts of generosity, to activate that grace borne of our invisible interconnections, and to pay it forward with a heart of unconditional gratitude. We are calling on you, the next generation of women leaders, to initiate a resurgence of the divine feminine to balance the divine masculine.

Surely, there will be challenges. Riding the waves of the unknown, and heading towards a future that we cannot yet imagine is hardly a trivial task. You will be tempted by the insatiable powers of the ego; you will have to confront not just the outer status-quo, but the inner status-quo that resists transformation. And yet if you lived in love and in service, there will always be a community to remind you of the song you have come here to play.

Villagers in Kargi, Kenya. Photo by Ian Macharia

There is a legend of a tribe in Africa where the birth date of a child is counted not from when they were born, nor even conceived but from the day that the child was a thought in its mother’s mind. When a woman decides that she will have a child, she goes off and sits under a tree, by herself, and listens until she can hear the song of the child that wants to come.

And when the mother is pregnant, she teaches that child’s song to the women of the village, so that when the child is born, they will welcome her with that song.

And when the child goes through the rites of puberty, they come together to sing that song.

And when the child falls, or hurts its knee, they will pick it up and remind her of the song.

And when the child crowns a noble achievement, they will celebrate with that song.

And if ever … along the way … the child gets swept up in the world and loses her way, the villagers will come together and remind her of her song.

And finally, when the child passes away, they will honor her life by singing the song.

So, Assumption Class of 2018, I hope you will sing your song of love, loud and clear, with unabashed courage and conviction. As you stand on the precipice of a new dawn, may the bounty of generosity, the winds of grace, and the poise of gratitude power your acts of service. And no matter what happens, please keep singing — and reminding the world of its song.

Thank you. And congratulations!

Nipun Mehta is the founder of  ServiceSpace.org , an all-volunteer-run organization that leverages technology to inspire generosity-driven social change. He describes his life’s mission statement as: “Bring smiles in the world and stillness in my heart.”  You can also view his  other talks  online.

Nipun Mehta

About the author.

This is a transcript of a commencement address delivered on May 27, 2016, at DRBU , a small private school dedicated to liberal education in the broad Buddhist tradition -- a tradition characterized by knowledge in the arts and sciences, self-cultivation, and the pursuit of wisdom. Nipun Mehta is the founder of ServiceSpace.org , a nonprofit that works at the intersection of gift-economy, technology and volunteerism. You can also view his other talks online.

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Dear Nipun, there are no words to describe how beautiful and inspiring your commencement address is! It touched my heart! This morning this thought came to me, “No matter what is happening, God is being God” and such a sense of peace came over me. I love your words, ‘surrender is a celebration of the infinite’. Nipun, thank-you and bless you! By the way, you have a beautiful smile!? Peace, Sheila ?

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Words of Gratitude (Graduation & Moving Up Ceremonies)

Started 10 months ago by teachersportalph in School Events , Graduation Events

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Explore heartfelt words of gratitude for graduation. Find inspiration, sample speeches, and tips for crafting your gratitude message here.

I. understanding words of gratitude.

Words of gratitude for graduation are expressions of appreciation and thanks delivered during a graduation ceremony. These messages can be a part of a speech delivered by a student representative or can be written in a graduation card or letter. The purpose is to recognize the support, guidance, and contributions of individuals such as teachers, parents, friends, and others who have played a crucial role in the students' journey to this significant milestone.

II. Crafting Words of Gratitude

Writing words of gratitude for a graduation involves acknowledging the support, encouragement, and love provided by those around you during your academic journey. Here are the steps to guide you:

Address All Relevant Parties: Identify all individuals who have contributed to your journey such as teachers, parents, friends, administrative staff, and fellow classmates.

Mention Special Contributions: Highlight the special or outstanding support you received from individuals, such as a teacher who went the extra mile, a friend who was there during tough times, or your parents for their unwavering support.

Recall Important Experiences: Share memorable or impactful experiences. These could be a challenging assignment, a class project, or any other significant memory that will resonate with your audience.

Show Genuine Gratitude: Express your heartfelt gratitude. Speak from the heart to let those you are thanking know how much their support and encouragement meant to you.

Keep It Simple and Direct: Your message does not need to be complex. A clear, sincere message is often appreciated more.

Wish Everyone Well: Conclude by wishing everyone well in their future endeavors.

III. Sample Words of Gratitude for Graduation

Honored Schools Division Superintendent, Dr. ________, and her representative, Education Program Specialist 1-A, Division Mathematics Supervisor ________; Alumna Speaker, ________.; District-in-charge, ________; School Heads of Prosperidad IV; our Brgy. Council, led by Barangay Captain, ________; School Head, Mrs. ________; GPTA President, ________; dedicated teachers, supportive parents, my fellow graduates, and all distinguished guests - good afternoon.

Actor Ed Helms once said, "Do not be afraid of fear because it sharpens you, it challenges you, it makes you stronger." This quote has stuck with me since my first day at ________ National High School. At first, it was tough. Some people didn't believe in me. But I worked hard, achieved a lot, and turned these challenges into motivation.

When I entered Senior High School, my responsibilities grew. My mom works overseas to support us, so as the eldest child, I had to care for my siblings. This forced me to mature quickly. I became both a caregiver and a student, struggling to balance school work and home duties. But these experiences made me independent and goal-oriented, and surprisingly, brought me here to speak on our graduation day.

Firstly, I want to thank God, the source of all our accomplishments. We wouldn't be here without His guidance.

To my parents, a simple thank you doesn't express my deep gratitude. Your unwavering support has been invaluable. I also want to thank my loving grandma, who has been like a second mother to me.

To the teachers of ________ National High School, thank you for your tireless support and for sharing your knowledge with us. We are proud to be your students.

To my classmates, your daily support meant a lot to me. I will always cherish the moments we shared, through good times and bad.

And lastly, to my closest friends, thank you for your advice, for listening when times were tough, and for being there when I needed you most. I apologize if I was sometimes immature.

Thank you, and congratulations to the Class of 2023!

IV. Delivering Your Words of Gratitude

Delivering words of gratitude can be a powerful way to express your appreciation. Here are some tips to make your delivery effective:

Be Authentic: Speak from the heart to make your message truly powerful.

Personalize Your Message: Share specific examples of how the person or people you're thanking have helped you to make your message more impactful.

Practice: Practice your speech multiple times to become familiar with it and deliver it with confidence.

Keep It Brief: A concise, focused speech is often more powerful than a long one.

Use Eye Contact: Engage your listeners by making eye contact during your delivery.

Use a Warm, Grateful Tone: The tone of your speech is as important as your words. Convey your sincere gratitude by speaking in a warm, heartfelt tone.

Stay Calm and Composed: Even though it's natural to feel nervous, try to stay calm and focused on your message.

End on a Positive Note: Conclude your speech with a positive and uplifting message.

V. Share Your Words of Gratitude

To all our readers, if you have your own words of gratitude, we invite you to share them in the comments section below. Your unique expressions of thanks can inspire others and help someone else articulate their feelings. Whether they're words for a graduation, a family gathering, or a quiet moment of thanks, we invite you to share them. Your insights and experiences are valuable, and by sharing them, you might help someone else find the right words to express their gratitude.

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Elementary Topnotcher’s Graduation Speech (2019)

“Good afternoon everyone.

This is a milestone for us, the grade six students as we exit the elementary level and step forward to high school. The six years we spent in the elementary school have left us with many memories, both bad and good. We have gained friendships from our classmates, we have obtained love and guidance from our parents and teachers, and most of all, we have learned and grown from our every academic work in the classroom. This is the day for us to be extremely thankful to them for they are the reasons behind our victory.

My dear fellow graduates, I am aware that our Elementary years were filled with many performance tasks, quizzes and examinations, and we are all fulfilled that we have overcome every challenge and task. Now that we are leaving our elementary years behind, let us not perceive that hardship will end right here on our graduation day. Hence, the priceless lessons, skills and values that we have learned from our alma mater will be our powerful tools as we step forward to the next chapter of our lives. I know that the first months of grade 7 will be hard, but if we, as a batch, cooperate and stick to our goals and dreams, I believe that all of us can Soar high in the Junior High School.

Giving up to a challenge will not give you anything. But, moving forward and taking a step is a big progress to make our future brighter. The six years we spent here in the elementary have taught us to never give up to every challenge we encounter. Our teachers have trained us to face every day with a positive attitude in life. Small wins lead to big victories so I am encouraging you all to give yourselves the chance to enjoy the process of learning and discovering. Mistakes are part of the journey and the only way to GROW is to correct and learn from them and never look back. Together with our transition to teenage life and all the exciting and nerve-wracking changes it would give us, let us keep the faith that God will be our ultimate source of wisdom, enabling grace and strength. He will help us deal, endure and overcome every challenge until we reach the glorious finish line- just like what He did today.

My dear fellow Sagradans, I am positive that our knowledge, talents, skills and distinct personalities as a student community will be flourished through the education that we are bound to create and consume in the coming school years. We may be different in a lot of ways but with a united spirit, our diversity will not be a hindrance to our academic goals because of our strong determination to put our best in everything that we do. As we seal this unforgettable chapter of our academic life, allow me to congratulate you all for all the accomplishments that we have obtained out of our daily undertakings in school. Our victory is also our school and family’s success. Let us always be reminded that our education is a gift and we should never take it for granted. Let us use it to be a blessing to others. Thank you and may the Lord bless our future academic life.

-Jeremie Galang

Sagradan Elementary Graduate, Batch 2019

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Why USC canceled its pro-Palestinian valedictorian

As the school year winds down, colleges are still grappling with student speech.

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Share All sharing options for: Why USC canceled its pro-Palestinian valedictorian

Campus tensions over Israel ’s war on Gaza have flared up again, this time at the University of Southern California, which this week barred its valedictorian from speaking at next month’s commencement ceremony. The school cited potential campus safety risks if Asna Tabassum delivered a speech.

Provost Andrew T. Guzman said in an email to students and staff on Monday that public discussion had “taken on an alarming tenor” after the school announced its choice for valedictorian. “The intensity of feelings, fueled by both social media and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, has grown to include many voices outside of USC and has escalated to the point of creating substantial risks relating to security and disruption at commencement,” he wrote.

Tabassum, a South Asian American biomedical engineering major who is Muslim and wears a hijab, says that she, along with other critics of the decision, believes the school canceled her speech because of her public support for the human rights of Palestinians .

Pro-Israel USC student groups, including Trojans for Israel and the Chabad Jewish Student Center, had complained online about Tabassum’s views, calling them antisemitic. The provost explained in the email that the decision “has nothing to do with freedom of speech” and made no mention of Tabassum’s political views. His email did not state whether USC had already received specific threats of violence or disruption.

Since Hamas ’s October 7 attack on Israel, campuses have been embroiled in controversy as student protests test the boundaries of freedom of expression. Many college and university leaders have struggled to make satisfactory public statements about the conflict and balance safety with speech protections. In the attack, Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis and took more than 200 hostage. Since then, Israel has killed 33,899 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Though schools have vowed to keep their students safe, some have reported facing violence and harassment . After failing to adequately condemn antisemitism in congressional testimony late last year, the presidents of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard resigned . A congressional hearing on Wednesday also brought Columbia University’s president before lawmakers to answer questions about the school’s response to antisemitism, showing that the quandary is far from over.

The USC provost referenced the broader turmoil on US campuses in his email: “We cannot ignore the fact that similar risks have led to harassment and even violence at other campuses.”

Pro-Israel groups are celebrating USC’s decision, claiming that Tabassum’s speech, which she said she had not yet written, could have made Jewish students feel uncomfortable. Tabassum told Inside Edition that she hoped to share a message of hope in her speech.

Meanwhile, critics say that it undermines free speech and is a signal that universities are caving to pro-Israel pressures. “USC cannot hide its cowardly decision behind a disingenuous concern for ‘security,” said Hussam Ayloush, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations Los Angeles. “The university can, should and must ensure a safe environment for graduation rather than taking the unprecedented step of canceling a valedictorian’s speech.” Student groups and outlets including the LA Times and the Guardian have defended Tabassum and condemned USC.

As the academic year comes to a close, the country is watching how similar situations might unfold on other campuses. It’s customary for students to make political statements during commencement speeches, but this year’s campus controversies could lead schools to keep buckling under pressure, raising concerns about students’ freedom of expression in the process.

USC chose its valedictorian — then silenced her

USC announced that Tabassum would be the university’s valedictorian on April 2, based on her grade point average, which topped 3.98, contributions to the campus community, essay submission, and performance in interviews. Tabassum, who also minors in resistance to genocide — studies about conflicts including the war in Ukraine , genocide in Darfur, and the Holocaust — was selected from more than 200 students who qualified for the award, and was slated to deliver the customary valedictory speech at the May 10 commencement. Then, Tabassum was notified that she wouldn’t deliver the address at commencement after all because of safety concerns. Critics began to speculate that USC was kowtowing to pro-Israel groups and people who complained about Tabassum being selected as valedictorian.

The right-wing pro-Israel organization organization End Jew Hatred welcomed USC’s decision, stating, “Ms. Tabassum’s speech as valedictorian was anticipated to be harmful to Jewish students and even potentially agitate anti-Jewish activists.” The USC campus group Trojans for Israel wrote that Tabassum “openly traffics in antisemitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric.”

Tabassum told CNN that she received “hate and vitriol” for including a link to the website “ Free-Palestine.Carrd.Co ” on her Instagram profile. The homepage of the website contains the image of a woman holding up a Palestinian flag and a peace sign rising above flames and smoke, and links to help visitors “learn about what’s happening in Palestine.”

USC’s Chabad argued that the linked website called for the “abolishment of the state of Israel” and called the words on the website, which Tabassum did not create, “antisemitic and hate speech.”

Tabassum said in a statement that she believes there was a “campaign” of “racist hatred” on the part of “anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian voices” to prevent her from addressing her peers at commencement due to her “uncompromising belief in human rights for all.”

“I am not surprised by those who attempt to propagate hatred. I am surprised that my own university — my home for four years — has abandoned me,” Tabassum said, adding that the school denied her request for more information about their threat assessment.

Pro-Palestinian students and groups such as Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace have faced discipline, sanctions, and campus suspensions and bans over protest activity since October 7 — part of a long history silencing student activism for Palestine . Meanwhile, students advocating for Palestine have been labeled antisemitic for chanting phrases such as “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “globalize the intifada.” Student protesters say the phrases don’t advocate for harm to Israelis, while critics say the phrases are threatening and call for violence.

School leadership has often said the groups were reprimanded for violating school policies amid a rise in antisemitism and anti-Muslim sentiment on campus. On Thursday, police in riot gear arrested more than 100 pro-Palestinian Columbia students at President Minouche Shafik’s direction, while administrators suspended three Barnard students , including Isra Hirsi, the daughter of Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar (D), for setting up “unauthorized” protest encampments on campus.

USC has not responded to requests for further information about any specific threats to Tabassum or anyone else in the USC community. USC has not yet responded to Vox’s request for comment.

“If anti-Palestinian groups are threatening violence, then USC needs to say what they’ve threatened and why it is so dangerous that it has led to such a drastic action, instead of disingenuously claiming that it isn’t engaging in censorship,” said Radhika Sainath, an attorney at Palestine Legal, an organization that defends people who speak out in support of Palestine.

“The fact that Palestinians and their allies are being punished and canceled in this way — while Israel is committing an ongoing genocide in Gaza — speaks to the McCarthyite moment we’re in.”

USC’s decision raises questions about free speech on campus

USC is a private school that makes First Amendment-like free speech promises , Alex Morey, an attorney at Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, an organization that advocates for free speech, told Vox. The school is also required to provide students First Amendment rights in certain situations under California’s Leonard Law , a 1992 statute that extended free speech protections to students at private colleges and universities in the state. The school’s decision to cancel Tabassum's speech, Morey said, “does implicate campus expression in an important way.”

“For those of us watching the campus speech space on the regular, canceling controversial speeches or events due to vague, unspecified ‘safety concerns’ is one of the oldest tricks in the book,” Morey said. “USC appears to have made a calculated move that this was the way to avoid the most criticism. Yanking the student’s valedictorian status or canceling the speech for viewpoint-based reasons would have pleased the students’ critics but angered her supporters. By citing ‘safety,’ however, USC’s doing their best to look like the good guy and suggest this isn’t about viewpoint at all.”

Morey told Vox the school should have done everything in its power to ensure that the event would go on, and that if threats remained, it should have been transparent about what those threats are.

If USC did in fact cancel the speech due to pressure from pro-Israel critics, now they know “that with the right amount of pressure, they can silence certain views at USC,” Morey said.

The USC decision has also introduced bigger questions about whether students who have publicly expressed any views on Palestine or Israel will be passed over for honors in the future. These decisions might lead students to self-censor.

“If USC will only honor students with certain views, are they really living up to their lofty free expression promises?” Morey said.

Ironically, Morey pointed out, Tabassum minored in “resistance to genocide” and is effectively getting dinged for saying “precisely the kind of things you’d imagine one would hear in Resistance to Genocide 101 at a school like USC.”

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Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Editorial: USC’s barring of valedictorian commencement speaker infringes upon free expression

By Editorial Board

April 21, 2024 8:29 p.m..

Earning over a 3.98 GPA as a biomedical engineering student is no easy feat. Nor is being selected out of hundreds of academically qualified candidates to be class valedictorian.

On April 2, Asna Tabassum was formally named class of 2024 valedictorian at the USC Academic Honors Convocation for her academic excellence and outstanding dedication to community service. Afterward, she surprised her parents, who burst out in tears when they saw the cake she had decorated with the words “Val part two,” since she had previously been named high school valedictorian but was unable to celebrate due to the pandemic.

Just two weeks later, this honor was stripped away from her via a communitywide email from USC Provost Andrew Guzman.

“After careful consideration, we have decided that our student valedictorian will not deliver a speech at commencement,” Guzman said in the email. “While this is disappointing, tradition must give way to safety.”

Guzman’s email came less than a week after student group Trojans for Israel publicly accused Tabassum of antisemitism for liking posts and linking her social media account to pro-Palestinian resources amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The link identifies Zionism as a “racist settler-colonial ideology” and calls for the state of Israel to be abolished.

USC’s decision to revoke Tabassum’s valedictorian speech is unprecedented, given that they’ve previously stood their ground on free speech in light of controversy.

The university’s refusal to disclose details on its threat assessment further casts legitimate doubts about whether its decisions were grounded on safety concerns. Guzman, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, claims that “The intensity of feelings, fueled by both social media and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, has grown to include many voices outside of USC and has escalated to the point of creating substantial risks relating to security and disruption at commencement.”

The decision to characterize Tabassum’s valedictorian speech as a threat to public safety is an overreach on behalf of the administration. Even if safety were to be a legitimate concern for USC, deploying the necessary security force at commencement should not be an issue. According to Guzman, USC has “the largest university public safety departments in the country, with more than 300 Department of Public Safety (DPS) employees.”

In 2018, the university also defended its decision to allow conservative commentator Ben Shapiro – a controversial political figure, who is also a former Daily Bruin Opinion columnist – to speak on campus despite significant opposition from students. The Office of the Provost responded to the backlash against Shapiro in a statement : “We must not let this event divide us or leave people feeling vulnerable or silenced.”

For the administration to censor Tabassum in order to prevent any tensions from arising during commencement only puts the university in murky waters.

The safety concern is nothing more than the anticipation of hecklers over Tabassum’s stance on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, citing a pro-Palestinian link on Tabassum’s social media.

And despite the allegedly alarming threats Guzman points to as the reason for canceling Tabassum’s commencement speech, Tabassum told CNN that the school refused to provide her any details on the conducted threat assessment or whether she would be provided security measures at the ceremony taking place in two weeks.

Tabassum, who was unable to deliver her high school valedictorian speech due to the pandemic in 2020, has been wrongfully robbed of a much-deserved voice, spotlight and celebration for her relentless hard work. Moreover, this commencement – one for thousands of graduates who have already been deprived of a normal high school graduation – has become a political battlefield full of animosity, pushing the merits and achievements of Tabassum and her class into a mere shadow.

At this moment, there is no greater threat than censoring student voices and falling short of guaranteeing their First Amendment rights. And if USC truly believes in its self-proclaimed value of free speech on its campus, it must reinstate Tabassum’s valedictorian speech.

As Tabassum and an overwhelming amount of the student body fight on for her rightful honor and voice, her institution chooses to leave her in the dust. Such a prideful institution should know where their loyalties should lie.

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Opinion: USC got it wrong in canceling valedictorian’s speech. Here’s what the school should do now

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USC’s decision to rescind valedictorian Asna Tabassum’s invitation to speak at its commencement no doubt resulted from a range of pressures from inside and outside the university, particularly the outcry over the student’s expressions of support for Palestinians. Provost Andrew T. Guzman wrote that he acted in the face of “substantial risks relating to security and disruption at commencement.”

Particularly since Oct. 7, university administrators have tough jobs requiring them to balance commitments to free speech, a vibrant and respectful academic culture, and campus safety. That said, USC made the wrong decision.

University officials evidently calculated that they would prefer taking heat for canceling Tabassum’s speech to doing what they have done for over a century: giving the valedictorian the opportunity to share her insights with the USC community.

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What exactly was the risk of abiding by this valuable and time-honored tradition? After all, U.S. presidents are invited to give commencement addresses at universities every year, necessitating far more security than any other speaker. Surely the threats posed to Tabassum can’t be graver than those facing a president of the United States.

Could it be that the risks motivating administrators included the prospect that the valedictorian might criticize Israel’s war in Gaza or express sympathy for the Palestinian people? If so, their tolerance for voices that roil the establishment has sadly disappeared.

We will not move past the crisis of the moment by silencing those with whom we disagree. The university is exactly the sort of place where such views must be heard. Otherwise, it is not a university.

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April 14, 2023

Universities should resist the toxic political culture that locks us in our echo chambers, where we are exposed only to those views that are to our liking. Students shouldn’t become passive followers who seek a diploma just to get a job. We want and need our students to be leaders; they need to encounter divergent and challenging perspectives that allow for innovation and the production of knowledge that can serve society.

An important point is often lost in the shrillness of public debate: It is legitimate to call for the liberation of Palestinians who have been deprived of the right of self-determination — which is precisely what Israel represents for Jews — since 1948, even if reasonable people can disagree about how that should be achieved. It is also legitimate to express grave concern about a war that has killed more than 33,000 people, many of them children, and displaced most of the Gaza Strip’s population.

These arguments are deeply discomfiting to many, especially students, staff and faculty who identify with Israel. And if the valedictorian were to articulate these claims in her commencement speech, it would be uncomfortable for some, perhaps many. But controversy is hardly unheard of or inappropriate in commencement addresses and decisions about who delivers them.

Graduation speakers have seized the pulpit to speak truth to power during some of the most tumultuous times in our country. At Vassar College’s 1970 commencement ceremony, it was probably uncomfortable for many in the audience, particularly the men, when Gloria Steinem declared that “much of the trouble this country is in has to do with the Masculine Mystique: the idea that manhood somehow depends on the subjugation of other people.” And many in the audience of UC Berkeley’s 1966 law school commencement were likely uncomfortable when valedictorian Michael Tigar devoted his speech to Vietnam, proclaiming: “War is the enemy of political freedom.”

But given the tedium that so often characterizes commencement speeches, controversial ones may be more in line with the rightful function of universities.

It is not too late for USC to correct its error. It would do justice to Tabassum, who is by all accounts an exceptional, passionate and compassionate student. And it would demonstrate confidence in the university as a forum that can withstand — and even benefit from — controversial and challenging speech.

David N. Myers is distinguished professor of Jewish history at UCLA. Salam Al-Marayati is the president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council.

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Citing safety, USC makes rare cancellation of speech by valedictorian who supported Palestinians

L OS ANGELES (AP) — The University of Southern California canceled a commencement speech by its 2024 valedictorian who has publicly supported Palestinians, citing security concerns, a rare decision that was praised by several pro-Israel groups and lambasted by free speech advocates and the country’s largest Muslim civil rights organization.

Andrew T. Guzman, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs for the private university in Los Angeles, said in a statement Monday that debate over the selection of valedictorian Asna Tabassum to give the May 10 commencement speech took on an “alarming tenor.” Her speaking would have presented “substantial” security risks for the event, which draws 65,000 people to campus, he said.

While Guzman did not specify whether there had been threats, he said that “we cannot ignore the fact that similar risks have led to harassment and even violence at other campuses.”

“The intensity of feelings, fueled by both social media and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, has grown to include many voices outside of USC and has escalated to the point of creating substantial risks relating to security and disruption at commencement,” Guzman wrote.

The Israel-Hamas war has presented a challenge for colleges under pressure to preserve free speech and open debate, and campuses are expected to be further tested as commencement speeches get underway in the coming weeks.

Universities should resist cancelling events that could be perceived as censorship, especially one as high-profile as a commencement speech, said Zach Greenberg, a first amendment attorney with the national Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression or FIRE. But, if they do, schools must be transparent and specify security concerns “not only as a matter of integrity” but also to warn the public for their own safety, he said.

He expressed concern about other schools buckling to pressure and eroding free speech.

“This is kind of an opening salvo of commencement season,” he said. “It seems to be a pretty clear example of a university canceling an event and censoring a student because of opposition to student views, especially on social media regarding the Gaza conflict.”

Tabassum, who is graduating with a major in biomedical engineering and a minor in resistance to genocide, said she was blindsided by the decision, in a statement provided Tuesday by the Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. University officials told her Monday that there were resources to take appropriate safety measures but they were concerned about their image, she said.

“Anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian voices have subjected me to a campaign of racist hatred because of my uncompromising belief in human rights for all,” she said, adding that she was not aware of any specific threats against her or the university.

“I am both shocked by this decision and profoundly disappointed that the university is succumbing to a campaign of hate meant to silence my voice," she said. "I am not surprised by those who attempt to propagate hatred. I am surprised that my own university — my home for four years — has abandoned me.”

Guzman said the decision was solely about safety and came after consulting the “expert campus safety team.” USC’s associate senior vice president of safety and risk assurance, Erroll G. Southers, is an expert in school violence prevention and a former FBI agent who is also president of the Los Angeles Police Commission, the civilian board that oversees the city's police department.

“To be clear: this decision has nothing to do with freedom of speech,” Guzman's statement read. “There is no free-speech entitlement to speak at a commencement. The issue here is how best to maintain campus security and safety, period.”

At the USC campus on Tuesday, some students expressed disappointment.

One, Isabella Griggs, said “there was no inkling” of Tabassum causing any harm with her words.

“And she’s talking about issues that are important to not only our university and to students, but to the world,” Griggs said.

Another student, Mohammed Zain Shafi Khan, said Tabassum “embodies what it means to be a valedictorian for USC, and to take that away from her — at least the honor that comes attached to it — is extremely disappointing because this is her moment to enjoy.”

The university announced its decision the same day pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked roadways in Illinois, California, New York and the Pacific Northwest, temporarily shutting down travel into some of the nation’s most heavily used airports, onto the Golden Gate and Brooklyn bridges and on a busy West Coast highway to demand an immediate cease-fire.

Campuses have been a hotbed of protest over the war , which began following Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people. Israel’s responding assault on Gaza has killed as many as 33,800 Palestinians , according to the Gaza health ministry.

The organization EndJewHatred issued a statement Monday night praising USC’s decision.

“Ms. Tabassum’s speech as valedictorian was anticipated to be harmful to Jewish students and even potentially agitate anti-Jewish activists,” the organization said.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the cancellation.

“USC cannot hide its cowardly decision behind a disingenuous concern for ‘security,’” the organization's executive director, Hussam Ayloush, said in a statement.

Tabassum, describing herself as a first-generation South Asian American Muslim, said her speech aimed to inspire hope in troubled times.

“By canceling my speech, USC is only caving to fear and rewarding hatred,” she said.

“As your class Valedictorian, I implore my USC classmates to think outside the box — to work towards a world where cries for equality and human dignity are not manipulated to be expressions of hatred,” she said. “I challenge us to respond to ideological discomfort with dialogue and learning, not bigotry and censorship. And I urge us to see past our deepest fears and recognize the need to support justice for all people, including the Palestinian people.”

Watson reported from San Diego. Associated Press journalists Christopher Weber and Eugene Garcia in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

The Point Conversations and insights about the moment.

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Farah Stockman

Editorial Board Member

Rural Voters Are More Progressive Than the Democratic Party Thinks

If you caught the scathing takedown of the book “White Rural Rage” in The Atlantic , then you’re aware of how intellectually dishonest it is to single out rural voters for special contempt. It’s also politically foolish, as a new poll by Rural Democracy Initiative , which will be released to the public in May, illustrates.

The group, which supports a network of progressive organizers in rural areas, commissioned the poll to help its members shape their messages in the most effective way. The survey, which was answered by 1,713 likely voters from rural areas and small towns in 10 battleground states, suggests that rural voters tend to be economic populists who would overwhelmingly support parts of the Democratic Party’s agenda — as long as the right messenger knocked on their doors.

Some 74 percent of rural voters who answered the poll agreed that decisions around abortion should be made by women and their doctors, not politicians or the government. That high figure helps explain why efforts to preserve abortion rights in Kansas, Ohio and other places have been so successful.

But it’s not just abortion. The survey found overwhelming support for leaders who fight to raise the minimum wage, to protect the right to form a union and to make quality child care more affordable — policy descriptions that seem ripped from President Biden’s campaign speeches.

The trouble is that a significant number of the respondents didn’t associate these policies with Democrats. In fact, once that partisan affiliation was added, support dropped significantly. Nonetheless, 47 percent of respondents said they would prefer to vote for a Democrat who grew up in a rural area and shared their values over a Republican business executive from the East Coast.

But perhaps the biggest problem the survey uncovered was that large numbers of respondents — especially young voters and people of color — reported that no one from the Democratic Party had reached out to them to offer information or ask for their support.

“It’s really clear that Democrats have a significant work to do to rebuild their brand in rural America, but that investment could pay dividends for Democrats, not just in the future but this year,” Patrick Toomey, a partner at Breakthrough Campaigns, which conducted the survey, told me.

In an election in which a few thousand votes could decide who wins the presidency or controls the Senate, it’s foolish to write off rural America.

Jonathan Alter

Contributing Opinion Writer

Jurors Begin to Understand the ‘Trump Tower Conspiracy’

Donald Trump always wears a red necktie, right? Not anymore. For the last four days in court he’s gone with a blue one. Whether this is a lame bid for the sartorial sentiments of blue-state jurors or just a reflection of his mood, he heard more bad news in court on Monday.

We learned that if Trump testifies in his own defense, he will be chewed up on cross-examination. Justice Juan Merchan ruled that Trump can be questioned about lies he told in four of six prior judicial proceedings, including the E. Jean Carroll case and the ruling that the Trump Foundation was a fraud. Only a foolish megalomaniac would take the stand under such circumstances — so perhaps he will.

Merchan also made it very clear he doesn’t approve of “jury nullification,” instructing jurors, who seemed very attentive, that they must convict him if they are convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that he is guilty.

In the prosecution’s opening statement, Matthew Colangelo outlined what his team calls the August 2015 “Trump Tower conspiracy” hatched by Trump, Michael Cohen and David Pecker, boss of The National Enquirer, who began his testimony later in the day. Colangelo previewed a large amount of evidence that will corroborate Cohen’s testimony about the falsified business records (including handwritten notes) that will most likely be damaging to Trump.

The worst day for Trump could come when the prosecution plays a September 2016 taped call in which Trump can be heard asking Cohen, “So what do we have to pay for it? 150?” (Meaning $150,000.) The answer was $10,000 more. Colangelo concluded: “It was election fraud. Pure and simple.”

By saying of Trump, “he’s a man, he’s a husband, he’s a father, he’s a person like you and me,” Todd Blanche, Trump’s lead attorney, seemed to be setting up a defense partly based on Trump not wanting the Stormy Daniels story made public in order to protect his family. But Cohen and others are expected to testify that Trump tried to avoid paying the hush money on the theory that it wouldn’t matter if the story came out after the election. So much for shielding Melania.

The Trump lawyers are denying everything — the alleged affairs and the cover-up — which is unlikely to be persuasive. But they may have better luck arguing that for all the prosecution’s talk of conspiracy, that wasn’t a count in the indictment. Blanche’s best line was: “Spoiler alert: There’s nothing wrong with trying to influence this election. It’s called democracy.”

What the jurors don’t know yet and won’t learn until the judge instructs them just before they deliberate is that there is nothing in New York state law requiring prosecutors to prove that Trump broke tax laws, campaign finance laws or conspiracy laws to win a felony conviction. All they need to do is prove that Trump intended to do wrong in these areas.

And by insisting that Trump is completely innocent, his lawyers have made it harder for the jury to convict him of just misdemeanors, not felonies. But it will be a few weeks before the jury understands all of that.

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Parker Richards

Opinion Staff Editor

The Impossible Matzo Ball

What do you call a person who keeps trying the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result? My mom, apparently: Each Passover, she tries once more to make vegan matzo ball soup. I’m sure she’s tried every published recipe, tried variations, tried anything she can think of. The thing about a matzo ball, of course, is that its structural integrity is everything: You need the egg, and most vegan egg substitutes just don’t seem to cut it.

The quixotic pursuit is an essential part of our Seders each year. It’s as much a tradition now as adding the Yankees to the list of Ten Plagues or slight eyebrow raising that accompanies the repeated crossing out and reinsertion of the founding years in Israel on the list of Jewish struggles in our much-modified family Haggadah — or even, for me, of the story of the first matzo, the unleavened bread made by the Israelites as they fled Egypt.

Standard matzo balls — which also have matzo meal and spices and herbs — are held together with egg. There are many vegan egg substitutes that add a bit of stickiness. Bananas work well in muffins; you might try cornstarch for a pie. The two most common versions are silken tofu and flaxseed mixed with water.

When I asked The Times’s recipe columnist Melissa Clark for a tip, she pointed me to Joan Nathan’s vegan matzo ball soup recipe. It calls for the use of aquafaba — chickpea water — as an egg substitute. (Clark noted that Ashkenazic dietary rules prohibit consuming legumes like chickpeas and soybeans, known as kitniyot, on Passover but Sephardic rules allow it. My mom’s veganism is more observant than her Judaism, however, so it’ll probably be all right.) The inside scoop is that this year my mom is going to use both silken tofu and flaxseed. Next year maybe aquafaba will join the list.

The plethora of options seems fitting for a holiday that celebrates liberation and, thus, relaxation; the need to labor in someone else’s name is gone, and so the labor of love that is the matzo ball can continue unhindered.

The quest for the structurally sound vegan matzo ball always made sense to me as latter-day Passover tradition. Judaism — especially of my family’s assimilated, not-really-observant-at-all kind — never seemed to me to require a logic that made sense independent of its own tradition. Jewish history and practice are rife with coincidences and traditions and loopholes. Why not add failed vegan matzo balls to the list? And who knows? Maybe this year the matzo balls will hold together.

Zeynep Tufekci

Opinion Columnist

The N.I.H.’s Words Matter, Especially to Long Covid Patients

Bernie Sanders, who chairs the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee , has proposed allocating $1 billion annually for 10 years to the National Institutes of Health for long Covid research. One potential stumbling block to this good idea is bipartisan criticism of the N.I.H.’s sluggishness in producing useful results from the initial $1.15 billion allocated to long Covid.

It’s in that context the current N.I.H. director, Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, responded to a question about long Covid last week, saying, “We see evidence of persistent live virus in humans in various tissue reservoirs.” She said that the virus can “live a long time in tissues” and that this is “likely one of the ways that it produces some of its terrible symptoms.”

The statement rattled researchers and shocked communities of long Covid patients. Proving persistent live virus that can replicate long after the acute phase and showing that it relates to long Covid symptoms would be a Nobel-territory breakthrough and point to effective treatments.

However, while viral persistence is one hypothesized mechanism for long Covid, as far as I knew, only viral remnants — leftover virus pieces that cannot replicate — have been shown, not persistent live whole virus. Further, such remnants haven’t correlated with long Covid symptoms. (Some healthy and sick people have them.)

Patients were abuzz . Was this more unacceptable sluggishness? Was the N.I.H. sitting on crucial unpublished information? Was the N.I.H. director completely out of touch with the research? Had they all misunderstood the science?

I reached out to the N.I.H. The answer turns out to be mundane. Dr. Bertagnolli said she “misspoke” and had “meant to say ‘viral components’ rather than ‘live virus.’” The N.I.H. also confirmed to me such remnants have not yet been shown to correlate with long Covid symptoms.

Viral remnants may still play a role — maybe only some people are sensitive to them — or maybe leftover viral components are common and harmless. The N.I.H. also told me this is “an area of active investigation,” as it should be.

It’s good that Dr. Bertagnolli is so engaged with long Covid, and misspeaking during an interview is human. Hopefully, the institution keeps in mind that suffering patients are hanging on their every word.

An earlier version of this article misstated the initial amount of money allocated to the National Institutes of Health to study long Covid. It is $1.15 billion, not $1.5 billion.

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Patrick Healy

Deputy Opinion Editor

What Toll Will the Trial Take on Trump?

Every Monday morning on The Point, we kick off the week with a tipsheet on the latest in the presidential campaign. Here’s what we’re looking at this week:

The spring of a presidential election year is usually a slog, but this week brings more proof that 2024 is unlike any other campaign, with Donald Trump’s criminal trial getting fully underway, President Biden finally showing how he’ll frame abortion in the race and the Supreme Court taking up campaign-related cases.

But it’s Trump’s legal issues that matter most right now. Opening arguments are set for Monday in his 2016 election interference case, and the ultimate outcome of the trial will affect the presidential race. A conviction would be a blow to Trump in what will be a tight Electoral College race in November, while a hung jury would be a win for his effort to portray himself as a victim of partisan prosecutors. (An acquittal is a long shot, but you never know.)

I’m curious about the toll the trial takes on Trump. It’s already visible in his face, his body language. He’s frustrated and annoyed, tired, sometimes angry or sleepy. A lot of Americans like Trump’s brash, high-energy, sarcastic, upbeat performances. So will Dour Donald sour voters? Also, when pressure takes a toll on politicians, they can do dumb things (i.e., the Clinton-Lewinsky affair). As I wrote last week , Trump has never been more vulnerable (the NBC News poll out yesterday underscored that), and the trial will wear on him.

Biden will deliver a speech Tuesday in Florida on abortion rights, denouncing the state’s six-week abortion ban. Biden doesn’t like to say the word “abortion” and has a long and uneasy history on the issue — he has never been a vocal champion. Does he start changing that with this speech? Whatever he says will tell us a lot about how Biden plans to frame this race around abortion, which could be a winning issue for Democrats in Arizona, Nevada and some other swing states this November.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the historic Trump presidential immunity case on Thursday, as well as in interesting cases on abortion and homeless camps this week. Check out this good preview article .

As for the House speaker, Mike Johnson, it looks increasingly likely that he will hold on to his job through November, thanks to Democrats, after a grumpy Marjorie Taylor Greene held back on her motion to vacate after the foreign aid votes this past weekend. The House is in recess this week, and Greene might try to oust Johnson when the chamber is back next week, but it has the look of a fool’s errand right now.

Inside the Courtroom, Trump Is Trapped With His Past

As a kid, Donald Trump was “a brat,” according to his sister Judge Maryanne Trump Barry. He pelted rocks at other toddlers and was sent to a military academy for being disobedient. Ever since, he has listened to no one about anything.

A big theme of the first week of his criminal trial is that Trump had to sit in a dingy New York courtroom he despises and listen as prospective jurors (who were not selected) trashed him. On Thursday he was called a “racist, sexist narcissist,” “unchristian,” “evil” and more. On Friday he heard a social media post from a few years ago describing his “egomaniac, sociopathic incompetence,” with one of his many critics concluding, “I do believe that he was the devil.”

He was trapped, unable to use the remote to change the channel to Fox News.

This was followed by lawyers arguing about which of his many lies and rebukes from judges and juries in earlier cases are admissible.

Justice Juan Merchan will rule Monday on how much of the detritus from Trump’s past can be used on cross-examination if Trump makes the foolish but still conceivable decision to take the stand. This could include the E. Jean Carroll civil case (where Trump was found liable for sexual assault); the smack-down from the bench when he filed a frivolous suit against Hillary Clinton; the judicial finding that he breached his duties by allowing his campaign to grab $2.8 million from his now-shuttered charity; and certain key parts of Michael Cohen’s testimony.

In the meantime, Trump had to sit still while the judge tongue-lashed his harried lawyers for the obnoxious strategy of delay he insists they continue to pursue. “The defense is targeting my decisions one by one by one,” Merchan said. “That has to end. … There comes a point where you have to accept my rulings. There’s nothing else to clarify. Nothing else to argue. We are starting this trial Monday morning.”

Trump thought this was his excuse to leave and violate courtroom protocol by standing up. He was sorely mistaken. “Sir, would you please have a seat?” Merchan calmly told the former president. Trump quickly sat down like the obedient little boy he never was. He is accustomed to ending meetings when he wants to, or stalking out when he feels like it. Those days are over for him, at least until summer.

Serge Schmemann

Is the Violence Over Between Iran and Israel? It’s Never That Simple.

Deciphering Middle Eastern enmities and conflicts has never been easy or even remotely certain. What happened on Oct. 7 and since is not simply Israelis versus Palestinians; it includes the shadow war with Iran, the calculations of Arab states, the political maneuvering of devious politicians and the concern of the United States that it could all erupt into a regional war that would suck in America and other outside powers.

The eruption of a confrontation between Israel and Iran was a case in point. Israel launched an attack on an Iranian consulate building in Syria to take out senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps who were meeting with agents. This was not an unusual feat for Israel, whose storied operatives have long hunted Iranian and other targets throughout the region, but the timing — when Israel was already mired in a war — was troubling.

Was this simply an opportunity so great that Israel could not resist, even at the risk of inviting a new conflict? Might Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have welcomed a sideshow with Iran to deflect attention from the death and destruction in Gaza?

Iran’s response came quickly in the form of a barrage of missiles, drones and rockets, which were successfully — and amazingly — neutralized by Israel, with the help of the United States and its allies, including Jordan. That led to speculation that Iran really didn’t want to escalate the conflict, but it’s too much to assume that Tehran really believed it could launch 200 drones, 36 cruise missiles and more than 100 surface-to-air missiles without even one getting through and potentially doing terrible damage. That would mean war.

On Friday a number of explosions in Iran were presumed to be an Israeli retaliation against the retaliation and, hopefully, the end of this clash. It seemed, on the face of it, a remarkable Israeli victory, demonstrating the power to strike Iranian targets inside and outside Iran and to neutralize Iranian air attacks.

But nothing is ever that simple in the Middle East. Iran’s theocratic regime, heavily invested in hatred of Israel and facing opposition at home, might now feel compelled to, for example, prod its Hezbollah proxies in Lebanon to escalate their attacks. And Netanyahu, who has openly defied President Biden’s appeals for restraint in Gaza, may still find it useful for his political ends to broaden the war and drag America into it.

Meanwhile, 133 Israeli hostages are still in Hamas’s hands, and a cease-fire in Gaza that would allow urgent food and medicine to reach the suffering population is still eluding negotiators. This is hardly the time to pick new fights.

David Firestone

Deputy Editor, the Editorial Board

Mike Johnson Deserves to Keep His Job

Given Mike Johnson’s election-denying mischief and ties to the evangelical right, liberals like me were skeptical when House Republicans made him their speaker, as were old-school centrists who simply wanted government to do its basic job. But this week I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised by his pragmatism, particularly his brave decision to allow a vote on aid to Ukraine on Saturday.

This grudging respect, of course, is built on an earlier expectation that the House would kneel to its furthest-right members and get nothing done — that it would allow the government to shut down and that the Republican Putin acolytes would succeed in their perverse goal of letting Ukraine fall to Russia by cutting off military aid. Admittedly, that’s the lowest possible standard for any responsible governing body. But both disasters could easily have happened if the Marjorie Taylor Greenes of the world had gotten their way, and Johnson decided to prevent it.

He did it by reaching across the aisle and governing with Democrats.

In January and again in March he defied the extremists and put spending packages on the floor to avert a shutdown, which easily passed once he invited Democrats to join him. The same thing happened on the aid packages for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan this week. Once it became obvious that a few dozen dead-end Republicans would block even the procedural rules for voting on the aid, Johnson agreed to submit the issue to what he called “ the will of the House ,” a slightly fancy way of saying that the whole chamber gets to vote on it. That process may seem obvious in any majoritarian body, but normally Republicans won’t let any bill come up for a vote unless they can pass it themselves.

Johnson, to his full credit, recognized that saving Ukraine was too important to be left to the whims of an ungovernable party. On Friday, the aid package cleared a key procedural hurdle only with the help of Democrats, opening the door for full approval of the aid package the same way on Saturday. If the Senate can quickly agree, Ukraine might not run out of bullets.

The next test is whether Johnson can keep his job after committing this sensible heresy against everything the MAGA caucus stands for. Greene and her ilk will try to take it away, and so he will once again need the support of Democrats. Surprisingly, he’s earned it.

Jesse Wegman

Jurors Do Their Jobs, Even in New York

Admit it: You were among the many who didn’t believe an impartial jury could ever be seated for the felony trial of Donald Trump on charges of falsifying business records for the purpose of election interference. Not in the dark blue bubble of New York City.

When the proceedings opened on Monday , the smart money was that it would take weeks, if not longer, for prosecutors and defense lawyers to settle on the 12 souls who will, for the first time ever, sit in judgment of an American president.

And yet here we are, only three days in, with a full complement of 12 jurors plus an alternate having been selected by Thursday evening. (Five alternates remain to be chosen.) Contrary to Trump’s repeated claims of witch hunts and political persecutions, Justice Juan Merchan, the state trial judge, said all of these jurors — drawn from a randomly selected sample of New Yorkers — could be fair. He told the jurors to return on Monday; at this pace, he said, the jury will be fully seated by then and ready to hear the case.

What does this tell us? As I argued in an audio essay on Wednesday, and as a jury consultant wrote in a guest essay for Times Opinion on Monday, the vast majority of Americans who are called for jury duty, whatever their personal or political background, take their role with the utmost seriousness. They understand the gravity of their obligation to decide on the guilt or innocence of a fellow citizen. Research shows that despite the negative rap that jury duty often gets, most jurors leave with more respect for and confidence in the justice system than they had going in.

New Yorkers are no different. It’s true, anti-Trump types are more common here than in, say, Georgia or Florida, where Trump is also facing criminal trials, but both sides have an incentive to root out anyone who can’t put aside their biases. On Monday, more than half of the first 96 potential jurors did that themselves, requesting to be excused because they could not be impartial. (Two seated jurors were dismissed Thursday, but not for reasons of bias.)

I’m well aware of the cynicism about juries — one commenter on my audio essay called jury duty “ crowdsourcing with bad parking ” — and of the fact that Trump himself has no regard for the truth or the Constitution. Both are understandable concerns, as is the risk that a holdout will hang the jury. Is it possible? Sure. Nothing human is perfect. But given the alternatives, I’ll take my chances.

Two Jurors Dislike Trump. One Will Judge Him.

Two potential jurors who both despise Donald Trump were questioned at his felony trial Thursday. One was dismissed, the other was seated on the jury that will decide his fate. How did that happen?

The courthouse, first of all, was stunned that a jury was selected on the third day of the trial. It was like a baseball game expected to last three hours that’s over in 45 minutes.

The jury includes three lawyers, who as a species dislike Trump at about the same level as Ph.D.s but come naturally to following a judge’s instructions. They and most of the others who were selected left no incriminating digital trail on social media and were smart enough not to insult Trump to his face. But there were two exceptions — people who said the kinds of things about Trump that he routinely says about others.

Juror B430, a longtime paralegal, was found by Trump’s jury consultants to have called him “a racist, sexist narcissist” in 2016, when she was a self-described “Bernie Gal.”

“I wouldn’t believe Donald Trump if his tongue was notarized,” she wrote. “He is anathema to everything I was taught about love and Jesus. He could not be more fundamentally unchristian.”

When questioned by the judge and lawyers, she apologized to Trump directly and said she no longer holds those positions.

Justice Juan Merchan concluded that the court “couldn’t take a chance” with her, and she was dismissed for cause.

Juror B500 was candid when questioned by lawyers. “He is selfish, self-serving and I don’t like him,” she said of Trump from a distance of 12 feet. Susan Necheles, one of Trump’s attorneys, said the woman should be dismissed by the judge for cause.

Joshua Steinglass, a prosecutor, argued that the juror was challenging Trump’s persona, just as any prospective juror would do with a defendant who was a skinhead.

The judge said the question wasn’t whether jurors liked accused criminals but whether they could be fair and impartial. But Necheles had a point when she said jurors have preconceived notions about people like sex offenders, since that’s about the crime, not the person. In this case, she said, it’s about Trump, not the crime.

Nonetheless, Merchan overruled her, saying that if courts eliminated all prospective jurors with preconceived notions about people “we would never have juries.”

Unfortunately for Trump, the defense was out of peremptory challenges and Juror B500 was seated. Fortunately for him, he needs only one of her fellow jurors to give him a break and he’ll have a hung jury.

Pamela Paul

At Columbia, the Grown-Ups in the Room Take a Stand

There’s plenty to condemn on today’s college campuses, including the behavior of both administrations and students. So it’s a rare pleasure to get a chance to applaud the president of a university, in this case Minouche Shafik of Columbia, who on Thursday called in the police to remove student protesters who have camped out on campus in violation of university policy.

I happened to be on campus Wednesday when this latest wave of protests was getting started. Students marched around outdoors in virtue-signaling masks yelling “N.Y.P.D., K.K.K.!” along with the usual anti-Israel slogans. For this passer-by, the fury and self-righteous sentiment on display was chilling. But for Jewish students on campus, for supporters of Israel or for anyone who doesn’t subscribe to the simplistic good-versus-evil narrative of the anti-settler-colonialism crowd, it must be unimaginably painful. Many of them are at the university to learn in a safe and tolerant environment.

As for tolerance? One can’t help but wonder, no matter what one’s opinion of Israel, or its despicable government under Benjamin Netanyahu or the particulars of its military response, why one rarely hears pro-Palestinian demonstrators condemn the terrorist organization Hamas, which has controlled Gaza without an election since 2006. Or why those who wish Israel’s military campaign in Gaza to end don’t likewise urge Hamas to end the fighting, which it could easily do by freeing the hostages it took during its Oct. 7 rampage.

Lofty, unrealistic goals, all. But no more unlikely than the wholesale eradication of Israel that many of these protesters seem to advocate above all else. As far as I could tell, the word “peace” was notably absent in the student display at Columbia.

On Wednesday, Shafik acquitted herself well under questioning in Congress . When asked about a glossary of politicized language, put together by students at the university’s School of Social Work, which I reported in the fall, Shafik condemned the language that implicitly denigrates Jews. When asked why the document spelled the word “folks” as “folx,” Shafik gave an appropriately sardonic reply: “Maybe they can’t spell.”

Spoken like a real grown-up. And Thursday, with the authority at her disposal and with the courage that too many academic leaders have lacked, Shafik did what any responsible adult should do in her position: She ordered the police to clear Columbia’s campus of the students seemingly unaware of how lucky they are to attend one of the nation’s top universities. Let’s hope this teaches the students a lesson. They clearly still have a lot to learn.

David French

Why Israel Might Want to Retaliate Against Iran

It’s easy to state a compelling case against the idea that Israel should strike Iran after Iran’s weekend drone and missile attack. Iran’s assault failed, spectacularly. Its vaunted long-range arsenal proved ineffective (at least in that strike), and the attack itself rallied Israel’s allies to its aid. American, British and even Jordanian forces intervened to protect Israel.

In other words, if Israel stops now, then it will have clearly gotten the better of Iran. A direct strike from Israel into Iranian territory carries substantial risk of further escalation, including perhaps a large-scale attack from Hezbollah and a two-front ground war in Gaza and Lebanon. Plus, what’s the real risk in restraint? If Iran attacks again, won’t Israel and its allies simply shoot down the missiles once more?

Perhaps not . While Iran’s bombardment failed, no one should minimize what it tried to do. As Gen. Mark Hertling (I served under his command in Iraq in 2007 and 2008) observed on CNN, Iran’s effort was comparable to the first day of America’s “shock and awe” strike against Iraq in 2003. We fired 500 precision weapons. Iran fired more than 300 against Israel.

As he also noted , the attack failed not just because Israel’s air defenses are so advanced but also because the attack was poorly executed.

As we’ve seen from Russia’s similar barrages against Ukraine, militaries tend to learn lessons from failure. If Iran improves its tactics (as Russia has) or cracks appear in Israel’s air defense, then the consequences could be catastrophic: a potential mass casualty event, making the Middle East a very different place.

Under these circumstances, Israel could rationally believe that offense is the best defense. It may not always be able to count on immediate, effective allied help, and degrading Iran’s capabilities could deter Iran, diminish the missile threat and preserve the precious ( and expensive ) missile defenses that saved so many Israeli lives. Israel recently paid a terrible price for its lost deterrence, and restraint could lead Iran to believe that it could launch missiles at Israel again without paying a terrible price.

No one should understate the difficulty of Israel’s decision, including not just the decision whether to retaliate but also how to strike back. There is no clear, safe path to peace and security. But the wisdom of Israel’s next move may depend on the answer to two key questions: Can diplomacy secure Israel more effectively than an I.D.F. response? And if diplomacy fails, how confident is the I.D.F. that it can stop Iran again if another 300 drones and missiles fall from the sky?

Lindsay Crouse

Opinion Writer and Producer

Even Clarkenomics Can’t Solve Sexism in Sports

Caitlin Clark is the most famous female college basketball player in history and was the No. 1 draft pick for the W.N.B.A. this year. But the public has been scandalized to discover what awaits this talented young woman as she enters pro sports: Her first-year salary will be only $76,535.

Her starting salary is far from that of the No. 1 N.B.A. draft pick, which is estimated at $10.5 million. In fact, as Axios reported , next year any random N.B.A. player is set to earn more than Clark’s entire team, the Indiana Fever, combined.

The outrage is refreshing.

Women in sports have been screaming about the athletic wage gap for years. Finally, people get it. On Wednesday even President Biden called on female athletes to be “paid what they deserve.”

He’s right. Sports are the ultimate expression of America’s values when it comes to many things, especially gender. The glass ceiling in women’s sports salaries has been accepted for so long that it’s easy to come up with plausible reasons that the best women are paid so much less than even the average man: lower demand for their games, suboptimal agreements between players and the league, inadequate broadcast deals.

But there are always reasons for blatant inequality. The question is whether America wants to continue to accept them. There’s not some craven force artificially keeping women’s sports salaries down; salaries follow the market. Ever since the dawn of professional women’s basketball, the league has been treated like the J.V. of the men’s game. When we invest in something as though it will never measure up, we effectively ensure it becomes that way. Let’s call it what it is: sexism.

Luckily, the fans see it differently. The W.N.B.A. now has a rising star player who is shattering TV viewership records everywhere she goes, and there are plenty of others ready to share her spotlight. Corporate sponsorships and better broadcast deals, and ultimately, better contracts, follow the fans. As we saw in soccer, where the U.S. women’s national team now makes the same as the men’s team, salary parity is achievable only when the public demands it and delivers the ratings to back it up. The more that goes into the pie, the easier it is for players and the league to get more in turn.

(And it’s not as if Clark were being sent off to the poorhouse. She is said to be closing an eight-figure contract with Nike, and her other endorsement deals are already worth millions .)

Women’s basketball finally has the thing the market wants: attention. And that’s translating to sales. The Fever’s ticket prices are up almost 200 percent from last season, and Clark’s games are already set to pack stadiums. Trickle-down Clarkenomics is on a thrilling rally.

The W.N.B.A. is only going to continue to soar — Clark is already a one-woman rocket booster for its success. But ultimately, Caitlin Clark can’t fix sexism. Only those of us watching can.

The Scent of a Struggling Campaign Is Emerging From Trump’s Courtroom

The Trump trial hit some speed bumps Thursday morning, with one juror quitting and a second likely to be thrown off, but it is still moving forward at a pace much faster than anyone expected. Jury selection will probably be completed by Friday and opening arguments could get underway on Monday.

So far in this trial, the Trump campaign has lost the states of Delay and Pretrial Motions Denied, with more battleground contests looking iffy for the putative Republican nominee, at least in the short run.

Inevitably, trial coverage is melding with campaign coverage. That’s not because of Donald Trump’s nonsense that his prosecution is being orchestrated by President Biden’s operatives (as if they somehow control state judges), and I have no idea how this 2016 election interference case will ultimately affect the 2024 election. But for now the Trump campaign trail is the Trump criminal trial, and he’s reminding me of some of the wounded candidates I’ve covered over the last 40 years.

While Biden has what his campaign calls “kitchen table conversations” with voters around the country, Trump is stuck having whispered defense table conversations with his lawyers, unable to leave the courthouse and what he considers to be its “disgusting” bathrooms four days a week under penalty of law.

While Biden blasts Trump’s tax cuts for billionaires, Trump is stuck trying to figure out how to beat the rap on the tax fraud charges that could be attached to his falsification of business records. And while Biden’s campaign war chest is devoted to spreading his message, Trump is stuck using his lesser haul to pay for civil judgments and pricey attorneys.

There’s a smell to struggling campaigns that you can pick up on the press bus, which in this case is the press overflow room in the courthouse. The crowds get thin (fewer than a dozen pro-Trump protesters outside the courthouse since Monday) and the attack lines grow stale. Of course Trump will probably keep using “Sleepy Joe” as part of his pattern of accusing others of what he does himself.

At least Walter Mondale, Michael Dukakis, Bob Dole and the other losers I’ve covered had members of their families with them when the trail turned rough. Not Trump.

Of course, there’s still plenty of time for Trump to recover. Don’t forget that Bill Clinton survived in 1992 after tabloid sex stories almost derailed his campaign.

David Wallace-Wells

Opinion Writer

Our Carbon-Hungry World Has Already Cost Us

Even if carbon emissions stopped on a dime tomorrow, new research published in Nature on Wednesday suggests, the economic damage to come from climate change would be jaw-dropping and indeed world-shaping: a 19 percent reduction in global incomes by midcentury.

As climate economists are careful to point out, this does not suggest that in 2050, the world will be 19 percent poorer than the one we inhabit today. It’s projecting a world in 2050 that is 19 percent poorer than the one we might’ve been living in, had we not put trillions of tons of carbon into the atmosphere. The proposition is basically this: Imagine being presented in, say, 2000, with two maps of the future economy, one which landed the world at today’s level of overall wealth and one which made it 19 percent poorer. Just the warming we have already ensured, the authors write, means that we will be following the poorer path rather than the more prosperous one. And because we are still emitting — indeed, doing so at record rates — there is also more warming to come.

Disconcertingly, the authors write, this will happen whether the world decarbonizes quickly or not. Although their estimate lands at the very high end of published research, it also joins a growing number of papers emphasizing the accumulation of climate costs over time; even small climate effects, tabulated across several decades, really begin to add up.

One bit of encouraging news from climate research over the last decade has been that scientists have largely turned against what was often called “warming in the pipeline” — the idea that, even if emissions went to zero tomorrow, the planet might continue to warm as natural feedback loops played themselves out.

Instead, climate scientists have generally coalesced around a more reassuring thesis, which suggests that whenever the world hits net-zero, temperature rise will stop soon thereafter. But this does not mean that damages will stop. Stabilizing temperatures at 1.5 degrees implies decades of damage, and stabilizing the climate at 2 degrees or higher implies decades of more intense damage.

This is one of the reasons that the effort to estimate the global economic consequences of future warming has produced a disorientingly wide array of intensely debated estimates. Some models, making certain assumptions, project that even very high-end warming would only cost the global economy a few percentage points of G.D.P.; others, using different assumptions, project far higher costs. But even the moderate estimates are increasingly eye-popping .

Biden’s Steel Tariffs Are Merely Symbolic

The most important thing to know about President Biden’s request for fresh tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum is that they will make almost no difference.

In case you missed it: On Wednesday, the White House announced that Biden would use a campaign speech to steelworkers in Pittsburgh to ask his trade representative to more than triple some tariffs on steel and aluminum products from China.

The reason it doesn’t matter much is that, last year, just 2 percent of steel imported to the United States and about 3.5 percent of imported aluminum came from China, according to the Global Steel Trade Monitor and the Global Aluminum Trade Monitor of the U.S. International Trade Administration.

Customers have switched away from China because tariffs on its steel and aluminum are already high, averaging 7.5 percent, and Chinese imports are further subject to anti-dumping and countervailing duties .

So Biden’s gambit is primarily symbolic. On the downside, it won’t save many steelworker jobs, if any. On the upside, it also probably won’t cost many jobs at companies that make products from steel, since so few of them are using Chinese steel in the first place.

“This is all politics,” Paul Nathanson, the executive director of the Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users, which opposes high tariffs on imported metals, told me.

Nathanson said there are approximately 68 jobs in industries that use steel for every one job in steel-making itself, which is a shadow of its former self. He said the United States has some of the highest steel prices in the world, which puts his members at a disadvantage against fabricators of steel products in other countries.

This is basic economics, but it seems to elude Biden as it eluded Donald Trump before him. Last month, Biden opposed the purchase of U.S. Steel by Japan’s Nippon Steel — even though Nippon is seeking to revitalize the tired American company.

Biden’s move Wednesday is primarily symbolic, as I said. But the symbolism isn’t good.

An Absurd Impeachment Reaches a Satisfying End

Senate Republicans pretended to be aghast Wednesday that anyone would think of dismissing their hopes for an impeachment trial of the homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas.

“Tabling articles of impeachment would be unprecedented in the history of the Senate,” sputtered Senator Mitch McConnell , the minority leader. “It’s as simple as that.”

But Democrats nonetheless quickly dismissed the absurd charges against Mayorkas, preventing a trial with a satisfying snap of closure. A 51-vote majority of the Senate agreed the charges were unconstitutional, because they failed to specify a high crime or misdemeanor that Mayorkas had committed. And with that, the whole sorry case ended.

There was nothing particularly unprecedented about the Senate’s rejection. In 2021, after Donald Trump helped lead an insurrection against Congress, 45 Republicans (McConnell among them) voted to dismiss the impeachment charges against Trump before a trial. They failed because they lacked the numbers, but their goal was precisely the same.

What was unprecedented was the impeachment effort itself, the first against a sitting cabinet official and the first time the House had abused the Constitution’s impeachment provisions for nakedly political reasons against an executive branch official without bothering to state a significant high crime. House Republicans claimed Mayorkas had lied to Congress about the security of the southern border; in fact, they simply disagreed with him and the Biden administration about how to define a secure border, and they decided to create a fake election-year impeachment process to once again wave the immigration flag before voters.

Senate Republicans looked equally ridiculous Wednesday, frantically making repeated motions to adjourn the trial, having realized they couldn’t stop the dismissal. But Democrats held firm and did future senators a favor by setting down a marker that impeachment charges have to be serious to be considered.

They did the country a favor, too, by sparing the public a farcical trial, in which we would all have been subjected to the sight of Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene on the floor of the Senate as an impeachment manager. That would bring back too many uncomfortable memories of Jan. 6, 2021.

Michelle Cottle

The Real Reasons Trump Set Foot in a Bodega

With this season of “Law and Order: Presidential Campaign Hush Money” underway, Donald Trump is looking to make the most of his time back in his hometown New York, preferably not too far from the Manhattan courthouse.

After catnapping in the courtroom on Tuesday, Sleepy Don had enough pep in his step to head uptown to Harlem to drop by, as the advance announcement trumpeted , a “Bodega Victimized By Soros-Funded D.A. Alvin Bragg.”

But I should let the exquisite hyperbole of the news release speak for itself:

“Today, President Trump will be visiting the New York City bodega where Jose Alba, a New York bodega clerk, was robbed, attacked , and, ultimately, wrongfully accused of murder after being forced to defend his life. President Trump’s visit to one of New York City’s bodegas comes at a time when retail theft is skyrocketing and the New York City police force is on track to fall to its lowest numbers since the 1990s by 2025. Bodegas are a lifeline to underserved communities, and President Trump believes that only by undoing the Democrat party’s soft-on-crime policies can law and order be fully restored to every borough throughout New York City.”

For background purposes: Alba did indeed lethally stab a robber in self-defense in 2022. He was brought up on murder charges, which were dropped not three weeks later.

No matter. This Trumpian stunt is a genius bit of political theater, allowing the former president to do several things at once: Smear the granddaddy of Dem-run cities as a crime-infested hellhole; imply the city is anti-law enforcement; attack the prosecutor overseeing his criminal trial as the puppet of one of the right’s favorite supervillains; claim common cause with a fellow victim of misguided prosecutorial zeal; and, perhaps most impressive of all, pander to Hispanic voters with his oily ode to bodegas.

Seriously, when was the last time this guy set foot in a bodega? How would he know anything about an “underserved” community?

That said, if this is how the campaign wants to play things, just think of the opportunities for future field trips to places with which the defendant presumably has little or no familiarity. How about visiting a day care center next? A homeless shelter? A public school? A library? A mosque — any house of worship, really?

Would such establishments appreciate the chaos that the MAGA king invariably brings? Does it matter? These little drive-bys, like everything Trump does, are all about serving his own needs. Everyone else is just an extra in his endless melodrama.

The Split Screen Democrats Have Been Dreaming About

For a few fleeting seconds on Tuesday, CNN showed the view of the two campaigns that the Biden campaign must be fantasizing about. On one side of the screen, President Biden was disembarking from a plane in Scranton, Pa., to give a speech about making billionaires pay their fair share of taxes. On the other side, Donald Trump was glowering in a New York courtroom, accused of falsifying business records and paying hush money to a porn star.

But CNN’s split screen didn’t last long. The network quickly switched back to dissecting the New York courtroom drama. I switched to C-SPAN to watch Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania introduce Biden — a speech that reminded voters that the Trump administration tried to pass a rule that would have allowed bar and restaurant owners to pocket the tips of waitresses and bartenders.

Then a local educator talked about the importance of the expanded child tax credit, remarking, “It’s pretty nice to have a president who sees the view from Scranton.” Then came Biden, who hammered home the message of stark contrast .

“I don’t see things from the eyes of Mar-a-Lago,” he told his audience. “I see things through the eyes of Scranton, where honesty and decency matter.”

Under a sign that read, “Tax fairness for all families,” Biden noted that there were about 1,000 billionaires in the United States and that they pay an average federal tax rate of 8.3 percent — a lower rate than most Americans pay.

His plan would require billionaires to pay at least 25 percent of their income in taxes to fund the Medicare trust fund permanently, he said. Trump, on the other hand, intends to extend his 2017 tax cuts, which simplified taxes for many people but had the principal effect of helping the wealthiest.

I suspect that coming a day after Tax Day, that message will hit home with many — if they saw it. Probably far more eyeballs were glued to news about Trump’s day in court than Biden’s day in Pennsylvania. But it is worth remembering that no matter what is happening on television, this split screen is real life.

When a Mob Gets to Veto a Valedictorian’s Speech

On Tuesday the University of Southern California canceled a planned graduation speech by its valedictorian, a young woman named Asna Tabassum. My newsroom colleague Stephanie Saul reported that the “school said the decision stemmed from security concerns based on emails and other electronic communications warning of a plan to disrupt the commencement, including at least one that targeted Ms. Tabassum.”

Shortly after Tabassum had been named valedictorian, two student groups, Trojans for Israel and Chabad, objected. Her social media bio apparently included a link to a group that condemns Zionism as a “racist settler-colonial ideology.” Trojans for Israel said Tabassum “openly traffics antisemitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric.”

Oddly enough, Andrew T. Guzman, the university’s provost, claimed the decision to cancel Tabassum’s address “has nothing to do with freedom of speech. There is no free-speech entitlement to speak at a commencement.” While Guzman may be correct as a matter of broad legal principle — there is no right to be a graduation speaker — he is completely wrong that the decision to cancel has nothing to do with free speech.

In fact, canceling a speech because of future safety concerns is a more egregious form of censorship than the classic “ heckler’s veto ,” when protesters silence speakers by disrupting their speeches. U.S.C.’s decision to cancel Tabassum’s speech was a form of anticipatory heckler’s veto. U.S.C. canceled the speech before the heckling could even start.

To support Tabassum’s ability to speak is not to minimize very real safety concerns in a tense and volatile time. In February, for example, a violent mob at the University of California, Berkeley, forced attendees to evacuate an event featuring a speaker from Israel. But it is the responsibility of the state and the university to protect both the liberty and the security of their students and guests.

I disagree strongly with condemnations of Zionism as racist, and I think it would be a serious mistake if Tabassum chose to commandeer her commencement platform to express such views. But I’m far more concerned about setting yet another precedent showing that threats and intimidation work than I am about the content of a single graduation speech. It is exactly when security feels most precarious that American institutions must be most vigilant in the defense of freedom.

The alternative is grim. If a fail-safe method of silencing speech is summoning a mob, or even merely threatening to summon a mob, then expect to see more mobs.

The Supreme Court May Side With Jan. 6 Rioters and Their Leader

Because of a couple of ambiguous words in a federal law, a majority of the Supreme Court seems poised to throw out hundreds of convictions of Jan. 6 attackers. That was the main takeaway after oral arguments Tuesday morning in a case challenging the Justice Department’s reliance on an Enron-era law in prosecuting some of the more than 1,200 rioters who broke down barricades and stormed the Capitol in a violent effort to overturn the 2020 election.

The right-wing justices, who sound increasingly as if they were dictating replies to a MAGA social media thread, expressed concern about the risk of selective prosecution. Why, they asked, hasn’t the same law been used against Black Lives Matter protesters or, say, Representative Jamaal Bowman, the Democratic lawmaker who pulled a fire alarm in Congress last year?

It’s fair to ensure that laws are applied equally, but this line of questioning from these particular justices was, at best, disingenuous. They seemed to forget that there is no precedent for a violent mob invading Congress in an attempt to block a constitutionally mandated vote count and overthrow an election. (Bowman, in contrast, was censured by his colleagues for his stupid and reckless but not insurrectionist act.)

The bigger question looming behind Tuesday’s arguments involved the man who incited the Jan. 6 mob: Donald Trump, the former and perhaps future president. Jack Smith, the special counsel, included violations of the same law in one of his federal indictments of Trump, and if the court tosses the charge in the cases of the relatively low-level attackers, Trump will surely exploit that in his case.

Of course, Trump’s own Jan. 6 trial, which was supposed to begin in early March, has been on hold for months, thanks to his outrageous claim of absolute immunity, which the justices agreed last month to hear on an oddly relaxed schedule . Oral arguments are more than a week off, and a ruling might not come until late June.

If there’s any silver lining in all this, it’s that Smith will know by then what the court thinks of this obstruction charge, and he can adapt his Jan. 6 prosecution accordingly.

In the meantime, Congress may want to update the federal criminal code for the age of Trumpism.

Trump’s Plan to Expose the Secret Bias of Jurors Isn’t Working

It isn’t easy being orange in Manhattan, but it helps to have a bunch of jury consultants scouring the web for anyone with a sense of humor about you. Even spouses making bad orange jokes.

Donald Trump’s legal team isn’t wrong to be concerned about bias. In the first batch of potential jurors in his hush-money trial, more than half volunteered that they could not be fair and were dismissed. And when a former Lands’ End employee was found to have posted in 2017 on Facebook to “lock him up,” Justice Juan Merchan rightly dismissed the potential juror for cause. Same for a bookseller who posted an A.I. parody video of Trump saying he is “dumb as ….”

But as the court seated seven jurors on Tuesday (out of 12, plus a half-dozen alternates), Trump and his lawyers tried the judge’s patience.

I wish there were audio footage of the angry voice from the bench when Merchan told Trump’s lawyers that the defendant “was audible, he was gesturing and he was speaking in the direction of the juror. I will not tolerate that. I will not have any jurors intimidated in this courtroom.”

A few minutes later, the still-irritated judge said he thought that Trump’s lead lawyer, Todd Blanche, was using the jury selection process to — wait for it — delay the proceedings. When Blanche tried to have a high school teacher from the Upper West Side dismissed for cause because she had taken a cellphone video of a street dance party on 96th Street celebrating Joe Biden’s victory, the judge summoned the potential juror. After ascertaining that she was sincere in her assurance that she could be fair, he refused to dismiss her for cause.

And Merchan rebuked Blanche for also offering a video the juror took of New Yorkers saluting health care workers by banging pots and pans each night at the start of the Covid pandemic. Blanche suggested the video was disqualifying, but the judge said there was “nothing offensive” about it, adding that making such irrelevant challenges was a waste of everyone’s time.

When the defense wanted Juror No. 3 dismissed for cause because her husband posted three joking photos (one during the transition from Barack Obama to Trump with the caption “I don’t think this is what they meant by ‘orange is the new black’”), the judge was not amused.

“If this is the worst thing you were able to find,” he said, “that her husband posted this not very good humor from eight years ago, it gives me confidence that this juror could be fair and impartial.”

Will Trump finally get the message that he’s not calling the shots? Not likely, but the judge will almost certainly keep delivering it for the duration of this trial.

Bret Stephens

The Assault on American Jews Is Getting Worse

Ten years ago, the Anti-Defamation League released its annual audit of antisemitic incidents in the United States. The group reported just 751 incidents targeting Jews in 2013, a 19 percent drop from the previous year.

“In the last decade we have witnessed a significant and encouraging decline in the number of antisemitic acts in America,” Abraham Foxman, the A.D.L.’s director at the time, said in a news release. “The falling number of incidents targeting Jews is another indication of just how far we have come in finding full acceptance in society.”

That was then. On Tuesday, the A.D.L. released its audit for 2023 . It recorded 8,873 antisemitic incidents in the United States — a 140 percent increase over 2022 and a tenfold increase over a decade ago. The numbers include 161 physical assaults, 2,177 acts of vandalism and 1,009 bomb threats against synagogues and other Jewish institutions, as compared to 91 bomb threats for 2022. Jewish cemeteries were desecrated 13 times last year, up from four times the year before.

Much of the increase came after Hamas’s massacre in Israel on Oct. 7, and the A.D.L. changed its methodology somewhat to take account of anti-Zionist expressions it deemed to be effectively antisemitic. But even without the methodology changes, the A.D.L. would still have recorded 7,523 antisemitic incidents last year.

What do some of these incidents look like? The report offers dozens of examples.

In February 2023, a man shot two Jewish men as they were leaving a synagogue. In May, “swastikas made of feces were smeared in a residence hall bathroom at the University of California, San Diego.” In July, a group of about 20 people assaulted three Jewish teens at New York’s Rockaway Beach after noticing that one of the teens was wearing a Star of David. In October, Jemma DeCristo , a professor in American studies at the University of California, Davis, threatened “Zionist journalists”: “they have houses w addresses, kids in school,” she wrote, before signing off with knife, hatchet and blood emojis.

Antisemitism can be difficult to define — a fact that has long offered antisemites an opportunity to hide their prejudice behind terminology. But as Justice Potter Stewart once said about pornography — “I know it when I see it” — so it could be said about hatred of Jews.

To see it in America today, you don’t have to look very far.

New York’s Flawed Housing Deal Still Deserves Approval

New York’s politicians have finally struck a deal to address the state’s disastrous housing crisis, the most pressing issue facing the region.

The deal, announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers Monday, is solicitous of real estate interests. But it may help accomplish some of what the state and its tenants need anyway.

Under the compromise, which would be included in the state budget, developers would receive generous tax incentives to build more housing. In exchange, developers would make 20 percent of the units affordable. A limit on building sizes would be raised, providing an incentive for more construction in New York City. Owners of rent-stabilized buildings could charge higher rents for making improvements. Hochul officials say the plan would lead to just under 190,000 units of new housing in the state over the next decade.

Tenants in New York City would win new protections against evictions, a long-sought goal. But other benefits for tenants are weak. Municipalities outside the city would have to opt in to the protections, which would prohibit owners of market-rate buildings from increasing the rent by more than 10 percent over the previous year, or 5 percentage points above the rate of inflation. There is a feast of exemptions, including properties with 10 or fewer units, and new units built wouldn’t be covered under the protections for the first 30 years. The weakness of these tenant protections, which have been fought hard by groups like the Real Estate Board of New York, is a reflection of the industry’s continued outsize sway on state politics.

But as flawed as this compromise is, walking away from it entirely would be irresponsible.

Four in 10 New York State residents are spending 30 percent of their income or more on housing. More than half of New York City residents are doing the same. Evictions are up nearly 200 percent .

Doing nothing isn’t an option. Instead, lawmakers and state officials can work quickly to make the deal better. Tenant protections can be strengthened. Allowing residents to rent accessory dwelling units, known as in-law apartments, would also be a win.

Truly facing this crisis will require bigger fights, like confronting restrictive zoning laws in Westchester and Long Island that have made it almost impossible to build multifamily housing. It’s also past time to reform New York City’s embarrassingly regressive property tax system, in which renters get stuck with most of the bill.

Residents, voters and businesses invested in New York City need to build a powerful pro-housing coalition, one that not even Albany can ignore.

Trump Beats Biden on the Economy, Voters Say. Are They Right?

President Biden must be tearing his hair out over the latest New York Times/Siena College poll of likely voters. Half of the respondents describe economic conditions as “poor.” Only 20 percent say they strongly approve of Biden’s handling of the economy, while 45 percent strongly approve of Donald Trump’s handling of the economy as president.

This would make sense if the economy were in recession, but the opposite is true. The Covid-19 recession happened while Trump was still in office, and the economy has snapped back powerfully since. On Monday, the Census Bureau released retail sales data for March that economists described as “solid,” “strong” and “booming.”

To be clear, what this means is that there are some likely voters whose opinions and actions don’t line up. They’re saying the economy is poor, but they’re behaving as if things are really good. How is Biden supposed to respond to this in his economic speech in Scranton, Pa., on Tuesday, without antagonizing voters by telling them they’re wrong?

Here’s a chart I made based on the Times/Siena poll about the two presidents’ handling of the economy:

And here’s one about economic conditions, which only 5 percent of likely voters rate as excellent:

I asked Ludovic Subran, the chief economist of Allianz Research in Germany, for his explanation of the divergence between the economy’s performance and voters’ perceptions. He put it into an international perspective. Around the world, he said, voters have turned against people who were in office when the inflation shock hit. Biden’s predicament doesn’t look unusual from that point of view.

Subran also said that inequality has increased during the recovery from the pandemic because the strong stock market has lifted the wealth of the stock-holding class. He attributed part of the stock market gains to the Biden administration’s policies, such as the Inflation Reduction Act, which directed government aid to companies that are investing in the fight against climate change. (Partially offsetting that, wage gains have been strongest at the bottom end of the income scale.)

The good news for Biden in the Times/Siena poll is that the two candidates are nearly tied in terms of whom voters would pick if the election were held today. But if Biden can’t persuade voters that he’s better than Trump on the economy — or at least somewhere in that neighborhood — his re-election campaign will remain in peril.

Justice Merchan Starts to Hold Trump Accountable

Beyond seeing its historical importance, those of us covering the Trump trial expected the first day to be relatively uneventful, with housekeeping details and rules of the road for jury selection. But it turned out that the morning also had the first stirrings of accountability for Donald Trump.

As part of the pretrial housekeeping, Justice Juan Merchan delivered the so-called Parker warnings on courtroom behavior directly to the defendant, reminding him that he could be jailed if he disrupted the proceedings.

Trump, who earlier seemed to be dozing, muttered, “I do,” when asked if he understood this and the other elements of the warning, which Merchan was delivering to Trump for a second time — now orally — just to make sure it sank in.

Then the former president had to sit and listen to a discussion of the admissibility of his years of witness intimidation, his arguably illegal social media posts and his efforts to use The National Enquirer to destroy his rivals. The jury didn’t hear any of this, but Trump and everyone else in the courtroom did.

All morning, Trump’s side only won once: when Merchan ruled that during the testimony of Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model, there could be no mention in front of the jury of Trump’s wife being pregnant and then being with a newborn (Barron Trump) at home when McDougal says they were having a long-running affair.

At one point, Todd Blanche, Trump’s lead attorney, saw that his slumped client was looking straight ahead, dejected. He reached out and patted Trump on the back.

Merchan said he would hold a hearing on April 23 on the prosecution’s motion that Trump be held in contempt of court and possibly jailed for three Truth Social posts attacking Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels, which seemed to be a clear violation of Merchan’s gag order preventing Trump from trying to intimidate witnesses.

Merchan indicated that he would reject Trump’s go-to argument that he was just responding in kind.

In the meantime, Merchan was also concerned about the logistics of accommodating Trump’s desire to be heavily involved in jury selection. Part of that process can take place in conference, outside the courtroom, if a potential juror wants to talk to Merchan and the lawyers in private. The unspoken worry hanging over the courtroom: Would a potential juror feel intimidated if Trump, exercising his right, was there, too?

Merchan is working that out. He reminds me of the old deodorant ad for Ice Blue Secret. The bespectacled, snow-haired Merchan is “cool, calm and collected” and will do a terrific job in this trial.

Frank Bruni

Have Voters Really Forgotten Trump’s Presidency?

Memory plays tricks on us. It’s famously unreliable. That’s the bane of estranged lovers weighing the wisdom of reconciliation. Of jurors determining the credibility of a witness.

And of Americans deciding how to vote in a presidential election? The latest poll by The New York Times and Siena College makes me wonder.

The poll, published Saturday, shows Donald Trump holding on to a slight edge of 46 percent to 45 percent over President Biden. And it includes this detail: When survey respondents were asked whether they remember the years of Trump’s presidency as “mostly good,” “mostly bad” or “not really good or bad,” 42 percent said “mostly good,” while just 33 percent said “mostly bad.”

Mostly good? Which part? His first impeachment? His second? All the drama at the border (because, yes, there was drama at the border then, too)? All the drama in the West Wing? The revolving door of senior administration officials, his good-people-on-both-sides response to the violence in Charlottesville, Va., his wishful musings about violent attacks on journalists and Democrats, his nutty soliloquies at news conferences early in the coronavirus pandemic, his recklessly cavalier handling of his own Covid infection, his incitement of the Jan. 6 rioting, the rioting itself?

Those were the days.

I realize that the “mostly good” camp comprises many MAGA loyalists who will simply answer any Trump-related question in a Trump-adoring way. Tribalism triumphs. I realize, too, that Americans tend to prioritize economic realities in assessments of this kind, and that much of what they’re remembering and referring to are the lower prices of housing, food and other essentials during Trump’s presidency.

But I fear that they’re forgetting too much else in a wash of voter nostalgia . A fresh presidential bid by someone who was in and then away from the White House isn’t just highly unusual. It’s a memory test — and, in the case of a politician as potentially destructive as Trump, a profoundly important one.

Americans unhappy with Biden’s presidency need no reminders about why. They’re living it every day. But their present discontent may be claiming the space on their mental hard drives where their past discontent was stored, purging all the discord and disgrace that created Biden’s opening.

Absence makes the Trump grow stronger.

As History Is Made, Trump Can Only Glare in Silent Fury

On Monday morning, those of us fortunate enough to have a seat in the courtroom will feel the hush of history as Justice Juan Merchan opens the People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump. This will be the first time since the founding of the American republic that a president of the United States has gone on trial in a criminal court.

As jury selection begins, my thoughts will inevitably turn to this striking lack of precedent. Richard Nixon was pardoned, Bill Clinton was disbarred, and Ulysses S. Grant paid a ticket for speeding in his carriage, but none faced a criminal trial.

This case is about highly credible charges that Trump falsified business records as part of a scheme to silence an adult film star and tilt the outcome of the 2016 election.

The prosecution’s argument that this is a 2016 election interference case is prompting Trump to pursue his usual I’m-rubber-you’re-glue strategy and claim that it’s really the judge and the Manhattan district attorney who are interfering — in the 2024 election. But he won’t be able to make that argument inside the courtroom.

Trump will probably have to settle for sitting silently and glaring at the judge. He is a domineering client, even when it’s not in his interest, and he’ll probably weaken his case by forcing his lawyers to back his ridiculous claim that the whole extramarital affair is made up. They’ll have a better shot arguing that the hush-money payments were not illegal and Trump did not intentionally break tax and campaign finance laws.

Among the witnesses expected to testify are Michael Cohen, Trump’s longtime fixer turned major accuser, whose credibility will be a big issue; Hope Hicks, Trump’s former press secretary, who could help corroborate Cohen’s testimony; Stephanie Clifford (Stormy Daniels), the porn star who received $130,000 in payments Trump is charged with laundering through Cohen; Karen McDougal, a former Playboy playmate of the year who also received hush money; and David Pecker, the National Enquirer chief testifying for the prosecution, whose catch-and-kill scheme to bury dirt on Trump will open a window on how tabloid journalism, well, changed world history.

Trump claimed on Friday that he’s willing to testify, but that may be just his usual posturing. If he rejects the pleading of his attorneys and takes the stand, cross-examination about his many lies would be admissible.

I’ll be back on Monday afternoon with a report on how the day went.

Could These Two Twists Change the 2024 Race?

Donald Trump has spent this year projecting political strength. His renomination was inevitable , and he has been ahead of Joe Biden in many battleground state polls and national polls. Keep in mind: Trump rarely led in general election polls 2016 and 2020, making his strength in the first quarter of 2024 notable. It’s one reason there’s so much talk of him winning the presidency this year.

But this week? It’s the start of the Trump vulnerability chapter of the campaign. I haven’t seen him looking this vulnerable since his 2022 Senate endorsements blew up in his face. The reasons are two twists in the race: the Trump trial and abortion.

As everyone knows, Trump’s trial in the Stormy Daniels hush money trial is set to start Monday in Manhattan. Trump has never faced a criminal jury trial in his life. I don’t think he ever thought one of these criminal trials would actually happen — he’s been an escape artist his whole life. The big question: Will this trial actually change anyone’s opinion of Trump when so much about his bad behavior is already baked into our brains? I think a conviction might — there’s some polling that suggests that independents and some Trump leaners would be less likely to vote for him if he’s convicted, especially of a criminal cover-up. Based on a lot of years reporting with voters, and our Times Opinion focus groups, I think voting for a recently convicted criminal for president will be a bridge too far for some Americans otherwise inclined to back him.

On issues, Trump has boxed himself into a position on abortion that he thought was awfully clever when he rolled it out: Let each state decide its abortion law. Then Arizona’s Supreme Court did just that, upholding a ban from 1864. I’ve rarely seen Trump look as slippery and untrustworthy with his own base, and he’s running away from abortion as far as he can. Do swing voters really believe him when he says he wouldn’t sign a national abortion ban if he had the chance? Doubt it.

As you’ll keep hearing, the election is more than six months away, and so much can change: we barely know how the Iranian attack on Israel might affect things, for instance. But for all those known unknowns, one thing is clear: Trump is entering his riskiest phase yet of the race.

Trump and O.J.: Antiheroes in a Cracked Mirror

In the mid-1990s, I spent an afternoon in the courtroom covering O.J. Simpson’s criminal trial in Los Angeles. The effect of being there — like the effect of seeing Donald Trump in court during pretrial proceedings in New York — was to shrink the whole spectacle into something more quotidian. In person, the carnival looks not just smaller than it does on TV but also a little pathetic.

I’ll be covering Trump’s hush-money trial in New York beginning Monday for Times Opinion. It won’t be televised, but the comparisons between the two cases and two men are already so common that The Los Angeles Times made a typo — or Freudian slip — on Thursday, referring to Trump when the obit writer meant Simpson.

Yes, both cases are media circuses revolving around shameless and manipulative antiheroes who have exploited race for their advantage. Both tap into the weakness Americans have for toxic celebrities who play victim as they stick it to the man. Both lead millions to despair over whether justice can ever prevail.

But the similarities can be misleading and not just because the Simpson trial was for murder and the Trump case is about falsifying business records.

While murder is obviously more serious legally and morally, the fate of a former president of the United States indicted on 88 counts across four criminal cases in four jurisdictions is more serious and important historically than the fate of a former N.F.L. star who did TV ads for Hertz.

Simpson’s epic journey — with its mix of fame, race and violence — was a quintessentially American story. The Trump saga has all of that plus immense political stakes, but the fundamental question remains: Is he un-American or in the American grain?

Trump’s shocking victory in 2016 did not settle the matter. We will learn in this trial what almost every political consultant in both parties agrees on: that Trump would have lost that year and been reduced to a footnote if Stormy Daniels had told her story on the heels of the “Access Hollywood” debacle, which sent his campaign reeling. He won only because the 2016 election ended with the focus on Hillary Clinton’s emails.

So beyond legal culpability and political maneuvering, what’s at stake in this trial and this election is whether Trump is an aberration or the embodiment of a new, darker American identity.

Both Simpson and Trump are mirrors reflecting two images of America — one Black, one white, in Simpson’s case; one Democratic, one Republican, in Trump’s. All of the mirrors are cracked and coming apart, with the shards sharp enough to puncture any remaining illusions we have about ourselves.

High school senior loses her valedictorian title due to ‘miscalculation’

BLUE RIDGE, Texas (WFAA) - A miscalculation cost a Texas high school senior her valedictorian title – and possibly a college scholarship.

Maya Veliz was officially announced as Blue Ridge High School’s valedictorian in March. She says she was told by administrators that her GPA locked her into the spot over the last year, as long as she didn’t fail a class. She was thrilled, having set a goal four years prior to graduate first in her class.

But last week, Maya Veliz says the school principal told her there had been a miscalculation over her transfer credits, and she was actually third in her class. She would no longer be valedictorian.

“To hear those words not even 30 days before graduation was gut-wrenching,” she said.

She had already written her valedictorian speech, and her family from out of the country had paid for flights to come hear her read it.

Perhaps most importantly, the news may have cost Maya Veliz financially as well. She already enrolled at the University of Texas with the belief her first year would be free due to a scholarship awarded at state universities to valedictorians.

“This affects my future,” she said. “I now don’t have that stability.”

She no longer plans to attend her high school graduation next month.

Maya’s father, Jorge Valiz, says administrators told him his daughter’s transfer credits from her last school were not weighed in accordance with the school district’s transfer policy.

“I would understand if this was a policy that’s been in effect for a year or two that they weren’t familiar with,” he said.

But Jorge Valiz says the policy has been in place for seven years, and he checked with administrators over the last year to see if his daughter needed to take any summer school classes to maintain her GPA and class rank.

“This is something I wouldn’t want any kid to deal with or any parent,” he said.

The school district confirmed miscalculations were made when originally finalizing class rank. It says plans have been “initiated” to ensure a similar mistake does not happen again.

Copyright 2024 WFAA via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.

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