But what if it had been a prayer?

I am a graduate of the Class of 2007 from Laconia high school. I was president of the National Technical Honor Society and Health Occupations Students of America. I am proud to say that I accomplished many great things while at Laconia High. On the long-awaited and much-deserved day of graduation I was looking forward to a memorable day of commencement festivities.

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The day of June 9th, 2007, was about US! This day was about our valedictorian and his very thoughtful and original speech. It was about the accomplishments of all of the members of the Class of 2007 whether it was for sports, art, musical talent, or simply because those graduating had applied themselves and stuck with us to make it to the day of graduation. I can honestly say to the Class of 2007 that I am very proud of all of you and honored to call you my classmates. This day was about each and every one of us walking across that red and white theme stage to receive our diploma that we all worked very hard for.

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This day was ruined for us and for that I apologize to the class of 2007 because obviously we are not going to receive any form of an apology from Ruth Stuart, the woman we called our librarian for four years. Mrs. Stuart’s commencement address was an absolute embarrassment. As soon as I heard her speech begin to turn from inspiring to political personal agenda I was astonished at her audacity to put the Class of 2007 in the position she did. I was dreading returning to the arms of my family waiting in the audience to congratulate me because I knew they would feel the same way I did and I knew there would be one heck of an uproar.

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Mrs. Stuart, I can assure you that you did nothing, but embarrass us. You did not inspire me nor did your words sway me in my beliefs of the activities of this country. In other words, you insulted your audience and did not gain anything personally. I agree that you have the freedom of free speech, but your freedoms stop where my freedoms begin. You disrespected me and you took away my freedom.

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There are documents, that are most likely in your library, called the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights, as well as the Constitution. Read them. We all had to memorize them in order to pass U.S. history, in order to go to graduation to receive our diplomas and be insulted by you. You did not have the right to infringe on our graduation celebration with your political views. Are you aware that there are many members of the Class of 2007 headed off to the U.S. military to serve and protect this country so that you can protest and mock them in the park every Saturday? You are an educator and you should respect your students and the speech you made was a blatant disrespect to the majority of your audience who will serve for this country, has served for this country, or has had family members serving this country.

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You tried to inspire the Class of 2007 to speak up, to have a voice, and not to let life pass us by. That part was effective, but your political views were inappropriate. I am speaking up and exercising my right to freedom of speech, but I know when the time is right and what place is appropriate. The paper and the news are very effective tools that everyone should use to form their own opinions and views on the activities of our country. This is the United Stated of America, if you don’t like it, if you want to disrespect it and take it for granted, then go live elsewhere.

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Class of 2007, don’t listen to Mrs. Stuart. Listen to your heart and do what you feel is right. Never, ever let someone tell you what you should believe or feel. Read the paper and watch the news. In a previous letter on this subject someone said to pray for our troops every night for one minute at 9:00pm, this is not enough. Pray for them all day if you want and never stop. The reason you can go and assemble at the church of your choice is because every day the troops of the U.S. military fight to protect your freedoms. Please, do not take your freedoms for granted. Be polite and respectful, follow your dreams, and never ever stop learning. Good luck to everyone, I am so proud of all of you.

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Goodbye, Mrs. Ruth Stuart. I would have expected that after what you did you would at least have the decency to apologize to the class of 2007, if not everyone in attendance at our graduation, but I guess that would knock your right off your high soap box. Peace.

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Brittany Hamilton

The debate over the propriety of the Laconia High School commencement speaker mentioning her opposition to the Iraq War has largely subsided.

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At issue was the allusion by Ruth Stuart to her participation in a weekly peace vigil which has been held since soon after the events of 9/11.

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Stuart, who was retiring as the school’s librarian, was tapped to give the main address at the June 9 commencement exercises.

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In her remarks, Stuart told the audience how with education comes responsibility, and hopefully, the ability to think critically and be able to stand up for one’s convictions.

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She gave a personal example, noting that as a member of the Lakes Region Peace and Justice Group, which has held Saturday afternoon vigils in the downtown since December 2001 to promote non-violent responses to conflict, she was initially scared about what others would think.

While aware that what Stuart said wasn’t popular with everyone, Guilmett said there was no ongoing issue on the School Board about it.

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"No, there really isn’t," said Guilmett who took a philosophical view of commencement speeches and of the speakers who give them.

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"You have good ones, you have bad ones, you have controversial ones and we’re not going down the road of censorship with them."

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"This is a freedom of speech issue. The men and women in the armed forces are fighting for our freedoms and one of them is the First Amendment which unfortunately may not sit well with some people when that right is exercised."

Claire Ebel, who is the executive director of the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union, said the fact that some people were upset by Stuart’s remarks — as well as the subsequent back-and-forth of letters-to-editor-editor about them and even this article — are proof that the First Amendment is alive and well and doing what it’s supposed to do.

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"There is, I would think, no ability, nor should there be any ability for school administrators to censor what a guest speaker says. "The range of topics that a speaker could touch on is fairly broad and the question of censorship is rather preposterous."

Disagreeing with a speaker is "perfectly fine," said Ebel, but to suggest that an individual’s rights are violated when someone uses his or her right of free speech, isn’t.
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"The answer to speech that you don’t like is more speech. That is how you counter the speech with which you don’t agree."

Er, but Ms. Ebel, what if the speech had included a prayer?

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