Lamar County School District, Hattiesburg, MS

Dr. Steven Hampton (LCSD superintendent) refuses to allow anything but legal names announced at graduation ceremony. This is strictly concerning the announcement portion, not the name on legal documents. It can be incredibly harmful for transgender individuals to have to hear and respond to their deadname, as well as confusing to their classmates, who do not and have not referred to the individual by that name. Our goal is to persuade the superintendent to allow transgender kid’s chosen names to be substituted in the announcement portion of the senior graduation ceremony. This is something that has no negative repercussions, and no one stands to lose anything if transgender student's chosen names are used. With permission from a parent or guardian, there is no reason why chosen names shouldn't be used to call up seniors for the graduation walk.