What was thought to be an honor is becoming a controversy. First Lady Michelle Obama will be speaking to a graduation class of high school students in Kansas, but some students and parents would rather she stay at the White House during graduation.
Some parents and students attending the ceremonies prefer to not have the first lady speak at the graduation because there will be fewer seats for family and friends, reported the Associated Press. In a graduation ceremony for the Topeka school district graduates, Obama will be addressing the audience in an 8,000-seat arena. Due to the combining of five high school graduation classes for the ceremony, seating will be limited for each student’s families.
Furthermore, some parents worry that the presence of Obama will overshadow the students' achievements, as this year marks the 60th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown v. Board of Education. School officials wanted the president or first lady to speak at the graduation in honor of that anniversary.
As previously reported, President Barack Obama will also be giving commencement speeches to multiple schools. The president will be speaking at the Worcester Technical High School graduation on June 11 before heading to California to speak to the graduates of the University of California, Irvine.