Top Students Deserve Proper Recognition : Saugus High School officials were wrong to eliminate valedictorian’s speech

“What is a demanding pleasure? A pleasure that demands the use of one’s mind . . . .Any knowledge man acquires is acquired by man’s own will and effort, and that is man’s distinction in the universe, that is man’s nature, man’s morality, man’s glory.”

--Ayn Rand.

It turned out that Brad Bjelke gained more attention than he ever would have for earning a 4.44 grade average at Santa Clarita’s Saugus High School this past year. That’s because the school eliminated its recognition of valedictorians, salutatorians and top 10 honors. Bjelke was therefore denied the fruits of his own demanding pleasure: the right to be recognized as the school’s top academic student, and the right to give the valedictory address at graduation.

Bjelke wound up on national television and delivered his speech on a popular Los Angeles radio news show. But why the change at Saugus High in the first place?

One student supposedly felt so pressured by his parents to be No. 1 that he allegedly became suicidal. (It was clearly the parents who were the nightmarish problem there.) Two girls who were once good friends became enemies in trying to outrank one another. Well, big deal. And some students pursued easier courses to boost their grades.

Well, leveling the academic playing field won’t prevent the latter. And it’s unlikely that there are many schools in which most of the student body is so concerned about being No. 1 that they are suffering from anxiety attacks or stress-related acne.

The William S. Hart Union High School board last week decided to continue the policy of allowing each school to set its own standard in these matters. We side with Canyon High School, which still recognizes its top student. “We feel that this is an honor,” said student Michelle Briones. How can a school truly honor academic excellence without formally recognizing its best?