FilAm valedictorian censored, so she posted her speech on YouTube

Petaluma High School valedictorian Lulubel Sseitz leaves the stage after her address was cut off.

BY TRYING to silence a valedictorian's comments about sexual assault, a California high school has instead given her worldwide attention.
Lulubel Seitz was delivering her valedictorian address at graduation last week (June 2) at Petaluma High School in California's wine region, when suddenly her microphone went dead.

At around the four minute mark into her valedictory graduation speech at Petaluma High School, the 17-year old Filipina American's microphone was cut off just as she had begun to speak about alleged sexual assault on the school’s campus. Seitz alleges that she was a victim of a sexual assault.

Her speech started off like any other high school graduation speech, talking about her journey as the granddaughter of Filipino immigrants, being raised by a single mother and being the first in her family to graduate from high school. She talks about the fires that ravaged the region in 2017 and praised the school's teachers who went on strike earlier in the year to earn better wages.

Four minutes in, Lulubel was saying, “The class of 2018 has demonstrated time and time again that we may be a new generation, but we are not too young to speak up, to dream and to create change. Which is why even when some people on this campus, those same people — ” then her mike went dead.

Stanford-bound Lulebel Seintz

Realizing the futility of continuing her speech at the open-air graduation, she returned to her front row seat to chants of "Let her speak," coming from the audience.

Before speaking, the valedictorian and salutatorian are required to submit their speeches to school authorities for approval. They had been warned what Lulubel wanted to say so when she went off script, the pulled the plug.

The controversial line that was not approved by school staff was: "Even learning on a campus in which some people defend perpetrators of sexual assault and silence their victims, we didn't let that drag us down."

Petaluma High School Principal David Stirrat told The Washington Post that all student speeches are submitted for approval beforehand and were told their mic would be cut if they went off script.

“In Lulabel’s case, her approved speech didn’t include any reference to an a‌ssau‌lt,” he said. “We certainly would have considered such an addition, provided no individuals were named or defamed.”

So ... like many internet-savvy individuals of her generation, Lulubel posted her complete speech on YouTube. As of this writing, the video has over 304,000 views and newspapers and television networks from around the world have written about what Lulubel wasn't allowed to say.

“The Petaluma High School administration infringed on my freedom of speech, and prevented a whole graduating class from having their message delivered,” she wrote on YouTube.

“For weeks, they have threatened me against ‘speaking against them’ in my speech. Sometimes we know what’s right and have to do it despite the threats. Watch the whole uncensored version here as well as the aftermath of them cutting my mic,” she posted with the video.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Watch her uncensored speech, below. Note that she does not once mention the individual who sexually assaulted her or any details of the incident. After her mike is cut off, stay on the video, Lulubel reappears to finish her speech.)

Later, talking to reporters, she said that she was a victim of sexual assault on campus.

A guidance counselor told her she wasn't alone, there were other young women on campus with similar experiences, said Lulubel. She was frustrated that perpetrators of sexual assault aren't immediately considered for expulsion or suspension. Her accused assailant was only forbidden to be on campus at the same time she was there. He violated that ban numerous times, according to Lulubel. When she brought those violations to the attention of school officials, she alleged that nothing was done.

So on the eve of graduation, she received inspiration while watching speeches given by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She thought to herself, "He had way more on the line than I do. If he can do it, then I should, too."

As of this writing, the Stanford-bound Lulubel's YouTube video has been viewed over 272,000 times, way beyond the few hundred people who attended the Petaluma High School graduation ceremonies. In addition, her story was told on television networks and newspapers throughout the world.

While there were a few detractors who felt it was not appropriate, the vast majority of the social media response has supported Lulubel's moment in the #MeToo spotlight.

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