Words, Part 5: The Hell You Say

Blogger's note: "Words" is an ongoing feature in which I take a look at special qualities and misrepresentations of the English language, how much fun it is to play with its words, and why it reigns as one of the hardest languages to master.


An Oklahoma high school graduate has been denied her diploma for using the word "hell" during her commencement speech.

At Prague High School, you can’t say 

the word “hell,” but you can cheer 

your fucking heart out for the Devil.

In her 2012 Prague High School graduation speech, the young lady - the class valedictorian, who had a 4.0 grade point average - recounted her frustration at repeatedly facing the question as she neared graduation about what she wanted to do with her life. Her response: "How the hell do I know? I've changed my mind so many times." After the graduation ceremony, she went to pick up her diploma and was told she wasn't going to get it. The reason, according to the school district superintendent, was that she didn't present the speech as written and approved by the school. The draft of the speech she submitted to the school that was approved used the word "heck." Her use of the word "hell" instead was deemed "language that was inappropriate for a graduation exercise." Said the Prague city manager, "I don't think language like that should be used in school, and as society starts accepting stuff like that, it becomes your normal," adding, "...you gotta have rules, and there's ways to change rules if you don't think they're right."

Yeah, language rules. Those are important. Otherwise saying things like "gotta" and "there's ways" become "your normal."

Now anyone who has followed the topics in this blog, particularly the Words series, knows how I feel about the use of language. There shouldn't be a problem with any word as long as the content of what's said is in the proper context of being said and the user accepts responsability for saying it. Especially when it comes to profanity. And if the word "hell" qualifies as profanity in this day and age, it's bush league profanity at best. Located between "heck" and "fuck" on the progressive scale of interjections, "hell" is one of those words that allows you to push the vocabulary envelope while you're pushing the maturity envelope. It's just enough of an attention-getter to announce you're growing up, but not quite potty-mouth enough to get a bar of soap shoved down the back of your throat.

As for her speech, I didn't find anything particularly shocking in what the young lady said. Sure, she stepped away from her script, but it's not like she went Sarah Silverman-open mike on the crowd. All she did was replace one innocuous word with another. (Technically, she replaced two letters (c, k) of one word with one different letter (l) used twice (l, l), consecutively (ll), to form another word.) A student's commencement speech is supposed to be more than a regurgitation of yearbook memories and band room anecdotes. It's supposed to mark the final stage of the transition from the halls of the school's protective cocoon - can't say "womb" in Oklahoma schools - and, hopefully, nurtured by - nor can you say "after suckling at the teat of" - knowledge, children will emerge - "be reborn?" Nope - as adults ready to survive in the wilds of the world. Having sat through my share of graduation speeches, I can tell you that the best speeches were the ones that had some personality behind them, ones that were balanced with elements of seriousness and humor, with an occasional finger flick to the earlobe to keep your attention, you know, like a valedictorian saying "hell." Compared to the young lady's presentation, I'm sure the faculty speeches were akin to rubbing a brick back and forth against the forehead.

In my opinion, the school administration, the district superintendent and the city manager overreacted. Had they been paying attention they would have noticed through the light laughter and applause that nobody else cared. Not the audience. Not the student body. Just them. I understand the "rules are rules" concept, but I also understand there is the letter of a rule, and the spirit of a rule. This is not a case of a student who narrowly escaped attending a fifth year of high school spewing a publicly humiliating rant during the ceremony. This is an honor student who said something intelligent, articulate and socially acceptable - or at least acceptable outside Oklahoma. I'm sure a stern lecture with frowny faces expressing disappointment by the school administrators would have sufficed instead of them pulling the sticks out of their asses to hit her.

Now to be fair, it should be noted the school and district administrators aren't the only ones who used poor judgment. The young lady's father needs to be put in check, too, for citing the 1st Amendment in defense of his daughter. This isn't a freedom of speech issue, dad. She exercised that right when she edited her speech at the microphone. So stop waving the flag and the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and your whole "young men putting their lives on the line to protect those rights" pandering to condemn what this really is, which is a lack of sensibility issue. Standing up for your kid doesn't always mean opening your mouth for them. She's not twelve, so give her advice if she asks for it, counsel her if she needs it, but otherwise stand there, shut up and let her do her thing. A 4.0 GPA doesn't include life experience, so let her get some.

The school administration's remedy was to request a formal, written apology from the young lady in exchange for her diploma, which she's refusing to do. And good for her. She did all of her required writing assignments during her four years at the school. The diploma is only symbolic, anyway. She should just take the frame she was going to put it in and put a copy of the news story inside it instead, then just go on with her life after telling the school administration to go to "heck."