Banned pregnant graduate walks anyway
 

She has chutzpah! Interesting...the baby's father got to graduate!

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/nation...t%20Graduation

Banned pregnant graduate walks anyway

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- A pregnant student who was banned from graduation at her Roman Catholic high school announced her own name and walked across the stage anyway at the close of the program.

Alysha Cosby's decision prompted cheers and applause Tuesday from many of her fellow seniors at St. Jude Educational Institute.

But her mother and aunt were escorted out of the church by police after Cosby headed back to her seat.

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

The school's guidance counselor delivered Cosby's degree to her house earlier Tuesday, but she still wanted to participate.

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

Cosby was told in March that she could no longer attend school because of safety concerns, and her name was not listed in the graduation program.

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

Safety concerns? Dude, WTF?

The father's allowed to graduate? Nice discriminatory practice there.

It's funny that she could've had an abortion and walked at graduation, no problem.

arrest her for trespassing. aint no woman gonna usurp the power of the pope.

Good for her!

Funny this is the same thing I thought when I first read the article. Then the next thing I thought is what Valkyrie posted about aborting it.

It's a Catholic school and they can do whatever they want, but I would ask that they be fair about their practices. If they don't condone the behavior then it is not fair to let either of the parties involved participate. They are punishing her because she has the bad luck of showing the outward signs of the behavior.

That was my first thought. The only thing the school "taught" its students by this little morality play was how to be hypocritical; first, with the baby's father graduating, then by not applauding her for following the church's teachings and not having an abortion!

Good for her, standing up for herself!

I'd like to see the justification for those "safety concerns" :rolleyes:

Agreed. Yes, they're a Catholic school and they can do what they want, but they should have banned both of them or neither of them. It takes two to make a baby.

Totally agree. The two kids knew the rules and regulations of the school. However, that rules and regulations must be enforced evenly. The fact that the father was allowed to walk and the mother doesn't make it seems that the school does not enforced the rules evenly. This smacks discriminations.

I agree with most of the other posters that the father should have been banned from the graduation as well. But the fact is she goes to a Catholic school where pre-marital sex, whether you agree or not, is against its teachings. It was the choice of her parents for her to attend a Catholic school and resultingly she must follow its rules. It makes perfect sense to me that she shouldn't have been allowed to walk at graduation. If this was a public school it would be a whole other story, she would have right to walk. The real fight should have been about stopping the father from walking for the sake of equal treatment of men and women.

At least the school let her stay. Some schools don't want pregnant teens to ruin their repuation, and would have asked her stay home for the ceremony, or even have kicked her out.

Re: Banned pregnant graduate walks anyway
 

Wrong. Seems they did make her leave school.

I can see what you mean by this... it's kind of sad that this school behaved in this manner, and it's not indicative of most Catholic schools...
I went to an all-girls Catholic school and during my senior year, two of the girls became pregnant. Both girls were strongly counseled against abortion, and everyone in the school rallied around the girls to make the best of the situation. The girls were allowed to attend school until they could no longer fit into their skirts, then went home for much needed rest. They were allowed to graduate, just not in front of everyone else, because they were at home, with babies.
I agree that the father should not have been allowed to walk.. At my hometown's boys Catholic schools, getting a girl pregnant doesn't stop you from walking on your graduation day. In general, Catholic schools in such situations are doing the very best to help out girls who have gotten themselves into sticky situations, but they also should consider the guys.

safety concerns? maybe they were afraid that her water would break and someone would slip and fall!

talk about a double standard.

Ugh. my high school was just like that. I was valedictorian and always wondered, what if I had gotten preggo, then what? 2nd best gives the speech?

my school had the policy of if your sweater could no longer cover your belly, you had to stay at home. (Like the sweater would magically conceal your growing belly:rolleyes: )

Then, if you came back to school after you had the baby, you had to pretend like the baby never existed, like you were never pregnant etc.

ugh. ugh. ugh!!!!!

The Catholic school I attended seemed a bit more lenient than described. 2 of my classmates were pregnant during their senior year, but both had their children before graduation. One was like the week before finals. Both were given dress code passes and if they had to go home to rest, they did. But one actually went to prom and finished up. And both walked.

Guess it just depends on the school. (Or how rich their parents are...:rolleyes: )

[hijack]

There is a pastor's wife in the small town next to me who has been instrumental in trying to start a home for 4-5 unwed mothers-to-be who have nowhere else to go. She has jumped through every hoop that their township council has thrown at her, including mandating that this house on an acre lot must have a 10-year old tree, so many feet high, every 8 feet around the circumference of the property so that no one can see the girls! These trees cost $150 each, so several of the local churches have been buying trees for this house. Heaven knows, no one has ever seen a pregnant girl before!!

So, the school district kicks the girls out for being pregnant. The parents kick the girls out for being pregnant. Now, the township is unwilling to let a group of people who are willing to help these girls move on with their lives actually help them!

BTW, for those of y'all who know older NBA players, the woman I mentioned is the mother of Armand Gilliam, Alma Gilliam. She is one of the most dynamic women I've ever met!

[/hijack]

I didn't go to a Catholic high school, I actually went to public. When I was in school you rarely saw a pregnant girl (even though it happened) mainly because they were made to go to the classes for pregnant girls at a different high school. It wasn't until my senior year that I saw pregnant girls at school and what was sad is that these girls received a tremendous amount of attention. The other girls in the school thought it was "so cool" that they were pregnant. Which I personally find pretty disturbing. I think the girls weren't "forced" anymore to go to the other school because of some parents complaining.

My issue with what this whole thread is about is the same issue others have mentioned the fact that nothing happened to the guy. I hate to think that we still live in a society that still BLAMES the woman when pregnancy occurs. HELLO do we not know how babies are made? Last time I checked it took both a sperm and an egg, which means a man and a woman. Stupid people.

The boy should have not been allowed to walk either. He should be suffering the same consequences that she is.

But I applaud her for standing up for herself and saying that it was wrong what the school was doing and walking.

In my high school a pregnant girl would just kind of disappear for a few weeks, and then often come back.

I dated (only once or twice) a girl in our school who had been pregnant by a friend of mine and came back after having the baby.

She was a lot of fun and a really nice person. She graduated with her class and we're still in touch via e-mail -- although generally by some fluke and not often.