High School Valedictorian Won't Get Diploma Until She Apologizes for Saying 'Hell'
Kaitlin Nootbar may have had a 4.0 GPA, but a mere four-letter word – hell – used in her valedictorian speech is keeping the Prague, Okla., high-school graduate from receiving her diploma until she makes a public apology, insists school principal David Smith.
The offensive word cropped up in her speech as the answer to a question about what graduates want to be in the future. Her response was, "Who the hell knows?"
And while Nootbar submitted her speech to school officials – who approved it – prior to delivering her address, she did admit on Today that she made a last-minute decision to say "hell" instead of "heck," as it had appeared in the version of the speech she submitted for approval.
Prague Oklahoma School District Superintendent Rick Martin, however, stands by the high school principal, who told this year's top student that unless an apology is issued, he will not release the diploma.
Nootbar – who is set to enter college on a full scholarship – remains unfazed. She says she's sorry for the problems the situation has caused her teachers, but she is not sorry for using the word in question.
"The fact is," she says, "all the diploma really signifies are my achievements, and I know what I’ve achieved."
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