All Issak Wolfe wants is for his name to be called at graduation, but an overly strict district with a history of poor choices refuses to let that happen.
A lot of students worry their name won’t be pronounced correctly at graduation. Issak Wolfe is worried his won’t be called at all.
Issak is a transgender student graduating from Red Lion Area High School in Philadelphia on Friday, but he will be accepting his diploma under his legal name, Sierra Stambaugh.
This is not the first time that he has had trouble with his school district respecting him as a man and a human being. In April, the principal of the school took his name out of the running for prom king—and instead put him up for prom queen.
“If I would have known they would’ve done that, I probably would have opted out,” Issak lamented. “What bothers me the most is they never told me.”
“I wasn’t given a fair opportunity. I mean, if I don’t win, I don’t win, but I’m not a queen.”
The school is keeping silent on all issues regarding Isaak and refused to comment on the decision. The district was at least kind enough to let him know that they would not call him by his name, which he has been using for years, at graduation.
ACLU attorney Molly Tack-Hooper said the district was “unmoved by [their] request” and wants to stick to legal names. Unfortunately, Issak only recently turned 18 and hasn’t had time to complete the legal name change. He was reportedly fine with his diploma having his birth name on it since it is a legal document, but he had hoped the school would show him the courtesy of using his actual name, especially after the prom debacle.
“The ACLU thinks it’s unfortunate the school has taken the path of rigid adherence,” Tack-Hooper said.
Photo: torbakhopper/Flickr