As High School comes to an end, students gear to come up with an unforgettable speech. No graduation is complete without a candidate speech. The young orators thank to all the people who motivated and also who demotivated throughout schooling, with a polite yet witty script. For Lulabel Seitz too, it was the moment spent four years working to achieve. The Petaluma High School senior became the first member in her family to graduate on June 9. As a Valedictorian, she used her speech as a podium to highlight the value of determination to her fellow seniors. But the Californian student's mic was cut off by the authorities when she tried to speak about sexual assault.

The teenager spoke about her immigrant family and her dreams independently but few minutes later during her graduation speech, Lulabel informed that her microphone was suddenly disconnected; the moment she tried to mention being sexually assaulted at her school. “Because the class of 2018 has demonstrated time and time again that we may be a new generation but we are not too young to speak up, to dream and to create change. Which is why, even when some people on this campus, those same people ....,” her mic was cut.

Watch the viral video of the student's speech at her graduation ceremony! 

In the video it can be seen that the 17-year-old is visibly upset, her friends and people in the crowd began to applaud and chanted, “Let her speak! Let her speak!” But adamant the school administrators were, they did not connect the mic and after a minute of silence, Lulabel went back to her seat. It did not stop her, and the teen decided to post the uncensored version of her speech on YouTube. In the later part of the video, the graduate said that she reported sexual assault, and the school authorities took no action.

“Even learning on a campus where some people defend perpetrators of sexual assault and silence their victims, we didn’t let that drag us down,” as she continues her speech. Lulabel Seitz told CNN that the school authorities warned her not to mention about the incident in her speech. “They just told me to not talk about it because it wouldn't help,” said the teenager.

Soon it went viral and even #MeToo activist and American actress Mira Sorvino stood up for the teen and tweeted about it on June 9.

When asked, the Petaluma School District reported that the reason they could not discuss about the teen’s allegations of sexual assault was to protect student privacy issues. Dave Rose, an assistant superintendent said that cutting the mic in between was not a violation of her freedom of speech. He further stated that if the school is providing a forum, then they have the right to have some control over the message.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 11, 2018 12:50 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).