Trans Student Fighting High School’s Decision to Deadname Him at Graduation Ceremony

A trans high school student in Allen, Texas is currently fighting his high school’s decision to deadname him at his graduation.

Jay Alfie, a senior at Alfie High School, started transitioning and stopped going by his birth name at the beginning of his high school career. With graduation around the corner, Alfie wanted to confirm with his school that they would be calling him “Jay,” the name he’s gone by his entire time there, at the ceremony.

The school replied to Jay and said that they wouldn’t be able to accommodate his request because the school ceremony will read the legal name of the student, which appears on the diploma.

“Everybody knows me as Jay, and I don’t want to go to my last day of high school, my ceremony to be called down by the wrong thing,” Alfie told CBS Local News. “I’m not getting recognized for all the success that I’ve made, all the grades that I’ve made and all these things that I’ve accomplished.”

“It makes me feel sad that they’re not going to allow him to enjoy that last moment,” Jorge Alfie, Jay’s father, said to CBS. “What are we talking about here, 10 seconds? But it’s probably one of the 10 most important seconds of his life.”

In response, Alfie’s sister Isabella has started a petition on MoveOn to try and persuade the school to call Jay’s name at graduation. Currently it has over 5,000 signatures with the goal being 7,500.