A Gay Student President Was Put on A Bind Not Able to say Gay on His Speech

Zander Moricz 

 

SARASOTA, Fla. —

A Florida senior class president was warned about talking about being gay in his graduation speech. So he found a way to avoid the words but still get his point across.

According to WWSB, Zander Moricz wanted to address the "Parental Rights in Education" law, known by critics as the "Don't Say Gay" bill, while addressing his classmates at Pine View School for the Gifted. 

However, Moricz was warned that his microphone would be cut off if he made any mention of the issue. Moricz said the principal told him such comments would be “polarizing and not school appropriate.”

So instead, he used his curly hair as a kind of code word.

"That is why I must discuss a very public part of my identity. This characteristic has probably become the first thing you think of when you think of me as a human being. As you know, I have curly hair."

His statement was met with laughter and applause.

“I used to hate my curls. I spent mornings and nights embarrassed of them trying desperately to straighten this part of who I am, but the daily damage of trying to fix myself became too much to endure,” Moricz said.

Moricz discussed how his curly hair is part of his identity and he's learned to embrace it.

“There are going to be so many kids with curly hair who need a community like Pine View, and they won’t have one,” Moricz said. “Instead, they’ll try to fix themselves so that they can exist in Florida’s humid climate.”

Mary Tavarozzi, the Board of Directors president for ALSO Youth, said she found the speech very inspiring but wished he could have given the speech he originally wanted to give.

“There’s still a lot of LGBTQ youth going to school in Sarasota County,” said Tavarozzi. “They need to be reassured that they aren’t being erased, that they will be respected and affirmed, and they will be able to go to school as they are, who they are.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 1557, the controversial bill nicknamed "Don't Say Gay" in March.

What is 'Don't Say Gay'?

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 1557, the controversial bill nicknamed "Don't Say Gay" in March. 

The controversial law bans teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity in grades K-3. It also empowers parents by adding that those topics cannot be taught in a way that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students according to state standards.

A parent could sue a district for violations.