A Texas high school graduate is still without her diploma after being escorted out of her graduation ceremony on Saturday, KPRC 2′s sister-station KSAT reports.
According to the report, Ashley Saucedo, a graduate of Southwest Legacy High School in San Antonio, was escorted out of the graduation ceremony on Saturday, June 5, after displaying the Mexican flag.
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“I also did it for every parent out there who’s an immigrant and comes here to the United States to have a better life, not only for themselves but for their kids and the future grandkids and everybody else, so they can live the dream, the American dream,” Saucedo said according to KSAT.
In addition to the flag, Saucedo also planned to wear a Mexican Sarape-style stole; however, it was taken away from her as it violated protocol.
KSAT reached out to Southwest ISD, who provided the following statement in regard to the incident:
“The campus and district take great pride in organizing a memorable commencement ceremony for all 450 seniors and their families. It is for this reason that protocols are applied to ensure events, such as graduation, remain dignified without large disruptions such as props, flags, somersaults, cartwheels, or other actions. All seniors who attend their commencement ceremony are made aware that breaking these protocols could lead to consequences affecting their participation for the remainder of the ceremony.
We support all students who want to display pride in their heritage and culture. Last year, we started allowing student individuality such as the decoration of graduation caps, which many students did. Despite the disruption of graduation, the student was never informed they would not receive their diploma.”
According to KSAT, Saucedo said she thinks the outcome would’ve been different if it had been a Texas or American flag that she displayed instead.
“I believe in my opinion, if I would have had taken out a Texas flag, an American flag, the school would have taken way differently,” Saucedo said according to KSAT. “I deserve an apology, not only me, but my family and everybody else who was offended about it, because it’s not fair that everybody else got their diploma, didn’t follow the contract rules, and they got it and I didn’t,” said Saucedo.