Video Shows Queer Valedictorian’s Mic Cut When He Talks About Coming Out

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Just as a New Jersey high school valedictorian launched into his graduation speech noting his queer identity and struggles, his microphone suddenly cut out. 

“After I came out as queer freshman year, I felt so alone. I didn’t know who to turn to,” Bryce Dershem had said at Eastern Regional High School’s ceremony last week right before his audio dropped, according to a video posted to YouTube. 

The principal then walked up to the lectern, grabbed the mic, and took a piece of paper—which Dershem said was his written speech, according to the Washington Post. 

All the while, the principal “pointed to the speech he had written for me, effectively, and told me I was to say that and nothing else,” Dershem told WCAU, an NBC affiliate in Philadelphia. That address, Dershem said, did not include references to his queerness or mental health treatment. His goal of bringing up such topics had been to ensure that people felt less alone, he told NBC News.

Still, Dershem was able to continue his speech from memory after he was handed another microphone.

“As I was saying,” Dershem said after a round of applause from the crowd.

In his speech, Dershem went on to note that he’d struggled with mental illness during the pandemic, and described how he spent six months in treatment for anorexia during his senior year.

“You are not alone in your fight,” Dershem told the crowd. “With the belief of those around you, you never have to suffer in silence. If you have struggled or will struggle, I believe you. And I hope you will believe others, too. From a formerly suicidal, formerly anorexic queer—the list goes on for me and for all of us—believe me that one person’s belief can save a life.”

After Dershem’s speech garnered national attention, Robert Cloutier, the superintendent of the Eastern Camden County Regional School District, told the Philadelphia Inquirer in a statement that students weren’t asked to remove “their personal identity” from their speeches, though student speakers did receive “assistance” in crafting their pre-approved addresses. 

Dershem is just the latest student to say they’ve struggled to speak about social, political, and personal issues during their commencement ceremony, though.

Last year, a Tennessee high school valedictorian said her speech was cut short after she spoke about the “inexcusable murder of George Floyd” and tried to end her address by saying “No justice, no peace.” A district spokesperson said the move wasn’t intentional. And In 2019, another high school valedictorian in Dallas, Texas, said her microphone was intentionally cut off after she mentioned Trayvon Martin and Tamir Rice during her address. Before them, students also reported that their speeches were cut off for mentioning topics like sexual assault or the faults of their schools. 

That teens would want to speak about hot-button issues during a commencement speech isn’t exactly surprising. Their generation, which is America’s queerest and most diverse cohort yet, has also come of age in an era of immense political upheaval and social unrest. 

Discussing mental health struggles, as Dershem did, also isn’t nearly as taboo as it once was, and has been especially important during the coronavirus pandemic, which has intensified symptoms of anxiety and depression for some. 

“Whether you are going off to college, enlisting in the military, joining the workforce—I hope you believe in how much you needed to overcome to simply be here today,” Dershem said. “It’s incredible, and no simple feat. Part of our identity, our year, our struggle, is 2021. We’re still here, though. We adapted to something we never thought possible.”

“You are fighters,” he added. “You are survivors.” 

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text TALK to 741741, or visithttps://suicidepreventionlifeline.orgfor more information.