Never Heard of This Before

Kansas speech by Michelle Obama draws complaints

REUTERS: Petar Kujundzi

U.S. first lady Michelle Obama claps as she gives a speech at the Peking University in Beijing, March 22, 2014.

7 hr ago  By JOHN MILBURN of Associated Press

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas high school senior has started an online petition drive in hopes of encouraging school officials to rethink their decision to have first lady Michelle Obama speak at graduation next month in Topeka amid concerns that seating may be limited.

Taylor Gifford, 18, said Friday that she decided to start her petition after students and parents expressed concern that Obama's visit would alter graduation plans, including limiting seating for family and friends.

"I really would like it to have a peaceful solution, but there is so much misinformation going on," Gifford said.

The school district announced Thursday that the first lady would speak at a ceremony May 17, the 60th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision that made school segregation unconstitutional.

Ron Harbaugh, spokesman for the Topeka school district, said officials had been trying to get the president or first lady to speak at graduation as a tie-in with the anniversary. He said meetings were planned Friday with district and high school officials to work out the logistics and planning for the event.

"We will have a clearer picture of what's going on," Harbaugh said.

School officials plan to combine graduation ceremonies and hold them in an 8,000-seat arena. Harbaugh said no decision has been made on how many tickets would be allotted to each student.

Harbaugh said the district would place a priority on seating students and their families. One option would be to have the event broadcast in an overflow room at a hotel adjacent to the graduation arena.

Gifford said her initial reaction to the news was excitement, saying she was "freaking out" about the prospect of the first lady speaking at graduation. When rumors of limited tickets surfaced, Gifford felt like the focus was being shifted from the students to Obama.

"People think it's a great opportunity, but it's the graduates' time. They are getting that diploma that they worked so hard for," Gifford said. "Families are feeling that they are being cheated out of the loved ones special day."

Some people have said bringing in the first lady politicizes the graduation. Others have suggested that if she wants to mark the Brown anniversary, she could just visit the historic site that commemorates the decision, which is just few blocks from the graduation venue.

The Brown site is housed in a former all-black school where the lead plaintiff's daughter and another plaintiff's child in the desegregation case were students. It tells the story of the 1954 Supreme Court decision.