Evan Young was finally treated as the hero he is, by a Colorado LGBT group outraged that the high school valedictorian was silenced at graduation last month, because he wanted to use his speech to come out as gay.
And according to Pride.com, this time, instead of a gown, he got to wear a cape.
The trouble started when Young refused to make changes to his valedictory address, to be delivered May 16 at Twin Peaks Charter Academy in Boulder, Colo. He specifically objected to the principal's demand that he not announce his sexual orientation.
"One of my themes is that I was going to tell everyone my secrets. Most of the things were stupid stuff, books I never read that I was supposed to, or homework I didn't like. But then I gradually worked up to serious secrets," Young told Boulder's Daily Camera newspaper.
In a news release, the school accused Young of using "his commencement speech to push his personal agenda."
Then, when principal B.J. Buchmann called Young's father about the matter, Buchmann outed the student.
Don Young recalled the conversation to theDaily Camera:
"Mr. Buchmann called me and said, 'I've got Evan's speech here. There are two things in it that I don't think are appropriate. One was he had mentioned another student's name. And then there was his coming out that he was gay.'"
Evan Young's parents were surprised but accepting, but the teen said he was not at all OK with how Buchmann handled the situation.
"I think what it mainly showed is that he didn't have a lot of sympathy for me, or someone in my position," Young told the paper. He didn't understand how personal a thing it was, and that I wasn't just going to share it with people randomly, for no reason. I thought it was very inconsiderate for him to do something like that, especially without asking me first."
Although Evan was not allowed to give his speech and was not recognized as valedictorian at his graduation, the LGBT organization Out Boulder offered Young an opportunity to deliver his address Sunday, with the added benefit of getting to wear a green superhero cape.
One of his teachers was on hand to introduce him, according to the Daily Camera. Young spoke of earning straight A's and hating homework, not taking notes in class, and only reading half of Crime and Punishment. Then, it was finally time for him to share one last secret.
"There is something I would like to reveal to you," he said, reading from the speech he had hoped to give two weeks ago. "You may have already suspected this, but I hope this does not change your opinion of me: I am gay. I've been attracted to men for as long as I can remember, and I've never had a girlfriend because I prefer members of my own sex."
The school didn't return calls for comment, but in its statement said:
"The initial draft of the student's speech submitted for review was condescending toward the school and the student's peers and included, among other things, ridiculing comments about faculty and students. The draft speech also included references to personal matters of a sexual nature. None of these topics are ever appropriate for a speech at a graduation ceremony ... a time for family and those closest to the students to celebrate success and express mutual wishes of gratitude and respect. It is not a time for a student to use his commencement speech to push his personal agenda on a captive audience, and school officials are well within their rights to prevent that from happening."
Click here to read the transcript, and below, watch the video of Young delivering his address.
