The Co-Valedictorians at Ellender High School in Terrabone Parish in Louisiana are Hue and Cindy Vo. They are first generation Americans, and their parents are immigrants. The girls certainly did their parents proud, and on the face of it this seems a great example of the American Dream. Now the elder Vos aren’t completely fluent in English, so in her Valedictory speech Cindy Vo included a sentence in Vietnamese just for them. How sweet. Alas, the powers that be at the School Board are a bit put off by Cindy’s including words that aren’t English in her speech. Here’s a bit of the story from the New York Times:

David Bourg, the secondary education supervisor with the Terrebonne Parish School District, is forming a committee of educators to study the graduations at the four high schools and to make recommendations to the school board. Officials are also considering other proposals, like requiring a prayer during the ceremony.

“As board members, we get to observe the different ceremonies, and there’s some inconsistencies I think the board, or administration more importantly, needs to address,” said Rickie Pitre, a board member. “I don’t like them addressing in a foreign language. They should be in English.”

This world just gets more and more insane all the time. Two girls achieve just as we want them to do. They get the honor of giving a speech in front of the entire graduation crowd. They thank their parents, just as we’d love them to do. What a terrific story ab out America, about family. Then some numbnuts on the School Boarde get upset b ecause they couldn’t understand all the words.