Maaz Farooq is an 18 year old graduating senior at South Amboy Middle High School. He has spent his entire high school career working day and night to earn the title of salutatorian. Maaz wanted to use the platform that he was given as salutatorian to highlight how happy the South Amboy Class of 2024 should be to graduate, as some (specifically the Palestinian Class of 2024), are not so fortunate. There was some pushback from administration because he was including something that could be deemed political and upsetting. Maaz did not want to risk having his diploma revoked, so he agreed not to speak on it at graduation. He outright said that he would change the topic of his speech, and would not allude to any topics that could be deemed controversial. However, Principal James Brown ended up choosing to bar Maaz from speaking totally because he "did not trust him". Maaz worked unbelievably hard to get to this moment, and like any other salutatorian, wanted to celebrate his achievements on the graduation stage with his family watching. The administration should place trust and faith in all of their students, but especially one who has never gotten in trouble and has held such great academic rigor. Graduation is only a short time away, and it is not right to do this to him on such short notice. 

As a close friend to Maaz, I can directly vouch for his integrity, and I know many other people can as well. No one deserves this more than him. Maaz Farooq should be allowed to speak at the South Amboy graduation, and we hope that the administration can see this.