Hot on HuffPost Parents:
Child Limit Imposed On Muslims In Parts Of Myanmar
PHOTO: Virgin Mary Figure Appears With Child Battling Leukemia
Student Sues School District, Claiming Her Race Kept Her From Being Sole Valedictorian
Filed under: In The News
Credit: Getty Images
Her rhyming name may sound a bit silly, but Wimberly, 18, is serious in her lawsuit against McGehee School District, its superintendent and the McGehee Secondary School principal, MSNBC reports.
Wimberly's suit claims she had to share the valedictorian title, despite the fact that she had the school's highest grade point average, according to the news site.
"Even though she had the highest Grade Point Average (G.P.A.) in her class, Defendants forced Wimberly to share the title of Valedictorian with a white student," the lawsuit states. "Defendants' actions were part of a pattern and practice of school administrators and personnel treating the African-American students less favorably than Caucasian students."
MSNBC reports Wimberly, who plans to attend Harding University in Searchy, Ark., this fall, received all A's and one B at McGehee.
According to Courthouse News Service, Wimberly's mother, Molly Bratton, who serves as the school's "certified media specialist," states in the lawsuit that she heard school personnel express "concern that Wimberly's status as valedictorian might cause a 'big mess.'"
Bratton, MSNBC reports, says she was not allowed to challenge the decision before the school board until after graduation.
According the the website, the suit seeks punitive damages and wants school records to show Wimberly as the only valedictorian.
TheTalkies:RelatedVideos
-
High School - Trailer No. 1
A straight-laced high school valedictorian schemes to get the entire senior class stoned in order to circumvent his principal's mandatory drug-testing policy.
-
Adrien Brody and Michael Chiklis Are in "High School" Trailer
A high school valedictorian is all of a sudden the subject of a drug test. Because he knows he will fail he must find a way to make everyone fail. In a very funny comedy starring Adrien Brody, Michael Chiklis, Matt Bush and Colin Hanks. We say Check It Out on Celebrity Wire Movie Reviews
-
Class Valedictorian Faces Deportation
Students at North Miami High School are protesting in an effort to keep their valedictorian from being deported back to Colombia.
-
Valedictorian Among 11 Students in Graduation Mistake
Eleven students received diplomas from Garinger High School, but were then told they didn't have enough credits to graduate.
SitesWeLove
- Site Map
- |
- Staff
- |
- Terms of Service
- |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Trademarks
- |
- Advertise With Us
- |
- About Our Ads
- |
- AOL Downloads
- |
- Contact Us
- |
© Copyright 2012 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Aol Family
ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
7-26-2011 @ 9:37PM
jhauenstein32407 said...This is very unfair. That girl worked so hard to get those grades, if her GPA was highest, she should have been the sole valedictorian. Unless the other student had the same GPA, it should not have been a shared title. She should have been applauded for her efforts, not discriminated against.
Reply
7-26-2011 @ 9:54PM
fifi011 said...It is unfair if it is indeed true, it states in the article that on the news site it shows Wimberly as having the highest GPA. If I remember correctly a student's GPA is confidential so the news site may only have Wimberly's GPA and not the other students. The only way we would know if this is a case of discrimination is to view the other recipient's GPA. Hopefully the student or students who deserved the award of valedictorian received it and I also hope this is not a case of discrimination. We will see how it pans out once all of the information is told to the courts, not just one students GPA.
Reply
7-31-2011 @ 10:23PM
cbelin said...for more details about the McGehee school district go here: www.edspressway.com
Reply