High schooler does ‘lil shimmy’ on graduation stage and is denied diploma, grandma says
A high school senior was denied her diploma after she danced on stage at her graduation in Pennsylvania, according to her grandmother.
Hafsah Abdur-Rahman was graduating from the Philadelphia High School for Girls on June 9 when she did a “lil shimmy” across the stage, her grandmother, Renee Hadiyah Reid wrote on Facebook.
Reid posted a video that shows her granddaughter dancing on the stage as members of the audience clap and laugh.
When Abdur-Rahman reaches the opposite end of the stage and holds her hand out to receive her diploma, the principal does not give it to her. Instead, she pauses and says something to Abdur-Rahman before placing the diploma in a basket at her feet.
Reid wrote that both her granddaughter and two other students who were denied their diplomas were “publicly humiliated.”
“My problem with this is the principal doesn’t know if these girls will ever graduate again,” Reid wrote. “My GrandLuv is venturing off to be an entrepreneur. You robbed them of their moment!! Why did she do that to them?”
A spokeswoman for the Philadelphia School District said in a statement to McClatchy News at the high school’s administration chose to give “a few” graduates their diplomas after the ceremony instead of on stage “due to the school’s graduation guidelines.”
“The District does not condone the withholding of earned diplomas based on family members cheering for their graduates,” the statement says. “We apologize to all the families and graduates who were impacted and are further looking into this matter to avoid it happening in the future.”
Reid wrote that when she saw her granddaughter after the ceremony she could tell that she’d been crying.
“... we need to uplift these girls,” she wrote. “We are talking about a group of good girls.”
Reid did not respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News. Abdur-Rahman could not be reached for comment.
Abdur-Rahman told WHYY that the principal warned students prior to the ceremony that families weren’t allowed to clap or cheer for their loved ones on stage, but she felt it was unfair to be reprimanded for dancing.
She told the outlet her graduation moment was meant to honor her sister, who was killed at 14 years old.
“I was so embarrassed,” she told the outlet. “I couldn’t even enjoy the rest of the graduation.”
This story was originally published June 16, 2023 at 2:21 PM with the headline "High schooler does ‘lil shimmy’ on graduation stage and is denied diploma, grandma says."