CORINTH, Maine — A central Maine high school refused to let a student walk at graduation because of her graduation cap. The senior decorated it to honor her best friend who died from cancer.
Samuel Alexander passed away in 2011. His best friend, Natasha Miller, wanted to memorialize him by decorating her cap at graduation in Corinth, which is against dress code.
“They just simply told us you need to either undecorate your cap or you can’t march. The other students decided to take their stuff off, but I decided I didn’t want to march without Sam,” Miller said.
“It was more about complying with what had been asked for students with dress protocol for the ceremony,” Rhonda Sperrey, superintendent of Regional School Unit 64, added.
Officials said they called the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office after Miller refused to take off her cap to make sure things didn’t get out of control.
Miller didn’t march, but the cap did make its way into graduation. A friend grabbed the cap and held it high over her head as she exited the gym where the graduation was held.