The Terrebonne Parish School Board is currently considering a proposal calling for an English-only policy at high school graduation ceremonies.
The proposal comes on the heels of a May 19 high school graduation ceremony at Ellender High School in New Orleans, La. The two co-valedictorians, honoring the personal sacrifices of their parents, spoke a few words in their native Vietnamese and then translated them for the audience.
The Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association of New Orleans noted that the policy discriminated against students’ right to express themselves in their native languages and devalued multiculturalism in education. VAYLA-NO pointedly questioned if the restriction would be under consideration if Latin, Italian or French had been used.
Minh Nguyen, executive director of VAYLA-NO, condemned the school board’s “blatantly discriminatory” proposal, calling it “a grave act of injustice to all who embrace the diverse communities in which they are a part of.”
