A student in the United States was denied her diploma after she danced her way to the dias on her graduation day.
In a video released on Twitter, the student, who was identified as Hafsah Abdur-Rahman from Philadelphia High School for Girls, was seen dancing on the stage with a bouquet of flowers as she proceeded to collect her degree.
As the girl approached the principal, who was holding the student's diploma, the principal lifted her arm and asked the student to go back to her seat. The principal put the girl's diploma into a basket which was lying next to her.
AT 4:30: This is video of Hafsah Abdur-Rahman dancing across stage to receive her diploma at the Philadelphia High School For Girls’ graduation.But she says her principal didn’t give it to her because she broke the rules by making the crowd laugh. Tune into @6abc for more. pic.twitter.com/wF41NCaAP8 — Briana Smith (@brianasmithnews) June 15, 2023
Rahman later that the principal had stolen a moment and she would never get it back.
"She stole that moment from me. I will never get that again," she told ABC News.
"I understood the rules because I was saying 'shh' in the video. Do not say nothing because I want my diploma. I knew and understood what we were supposed to do," she added.
Adding that she felt embarrassed by her act on stage, Rahman said she could not enjoy the rest of the graduation ceremony.
"I was so embarrassed. I couldn't even enjoy the rest of the graduation," she said.
The student clarified that the principal had given a warning beforehand to the students that neither their families nor their friends were allowed to cheer or clap when they walked on the stage to receive their diplomas.
The school later issued an apology for the incident.
"The District does not condone the withholding of earned diplomas based on family members cheering for their graduates. We apologize to all the families and graduates who were impacted and are further looking into this matter to avoid it happening in the future," the statement read.
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