You Go, Girl!
Via The Top Ten Conservative Idiots over at DU, I just learned about Alysha Cosby, my new hero:

Pregnant student banned from graduation walks stage anyway
By Erica Pippins
Montgomery Advertiser

Alysha Cosby waited four years to hear her name called at her high school graduation.

When it wasn't, she took matters into her own hands.

After the last graduate was asked to come forward to receive his degree at St. Jude Educational Institute's commencement Tuesday night, Cosby announced her own name and walked across the stage.

Cosby, who is pregnant, was told in March that she could no longer attend school, due to safety concerns. School officials also told her to complete her class work at home and said she could not participate in graduation.

Cosby, her mother, Sheila Cosby and aunt, Debra Blackwell , were escorted out of St. Jude Church by police after she headed back to her seat.

"I really came to support my classmates. Doing this was really a last-minute thing," said Cosby, after her family left the building.

The school's guidance counselor delivered Cosby's degree to her house early Tuesday afternoon, but she still wanted to participate. Her name was not listed on the graduation program.

"I worked hard throughout high school and I wanted to walk with my class," Cosby said .

Her decision to do so prompted cheers and applause from many of her fellow seniors and dozens of people in the church. Some, however, murmured that her act was in poor taste and that it took away from the ceremony.

"For those who may not have been happy with what I did, consider this: If you had someone close to you who was about to graduate and met all the requirements, wouldn't you want them to walk?," Cosby said. "Just because I am pregnant doesn't mean that I am any different."

School policy states that the administration can decide if and when a student needs to be homeschooled based on a number of factors, including medical safety, physiological well-being and social issues.

The father of Cosby's child also is a senior at the school. He was allowed to participate in graduation.

"I can't believe something like this is happening in 2005. I feel like we have regressed instead of progressed," Sheila Cosby said. "My daughter has been through a lot and I am proud of her. She deserved to walk, and she did."

I'd be proud of her too, if I were that mother. Wow. This girl rocks.
- posted by TJ @ 4:01 PM