The Therapy Sessions
Thursday, June 12, 2003
Valedictorian to skip graduation, fearing classmates' reaction.
MOORESTOWN - Next Thursday was supposed to be her day of triumph.
Wearing a robe and mortarboard, she was supposed to stand before her classmates, reflecting on the last four years and looking forward to future accomplishments.
But in a poignant twist, Blair Hornstine, the disabled academic star who went to federal court to ensure she was named sole valedictorian of the Moorestown High School Class of 2003, will give no speeches on graduation day.
She will not show up at all, amid rumors that classmates planned to boo or turn their backs on a girl many say never deserved to represent their class.
In a letter dated Tuesday, Hornstine's attorney, Edwin Jacobs Jr., told school officials that "the hostile environment at the school has traumatized Blair both physically and emotionally, to the point that she cannot and will not attend the graduation ceremonies."
Awww. Boo hoo.
Later in the article, it is said that the Harvard petition now has 2200 names. Somebody is going to be really popular in September.