A transgender high school student in Texas was told that his name won’t be called during the graduation ceremony. Instead, the school plans on using his dead name.
Jay Alfie has been attending Allen High School, near Dallas, as a boy since he transitioned in ninth grade. He has been called “Jay” by everyone at the school since then.
He checked with the administration a few months ago to see if they were going to use his name at the graduation ceremony, but he was told that they would not “because it had to be legally changed.”
“Everybody knows me as Jay, and I don’t want to go to my ceremony to be called down by the wrong thing,” he said. “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.”
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His parents said that they’re in the process of getting Jay’s name legally changed.
“It makes me feel sad that they’re not going to allow him to enjoy that last moment,” said Jorge Alfie, Jay’s father. “What are we talking about here, 10 seconds? But it’s probably one of the 10 most important seconds of his life.”
Jay’s sister Isabella has created a MoveOn.org petition to ask the administration to call her brother by his name.
“Just say his name,” she said. “I don’t know why it’s a big deal.”
Jay’s parents have a meeting with the school scheduled for Wednesday. The graduation ceremony is on Friday.
CBS DFW 11/21 identified Jay as “Jay Alsie” in their television coverage. The MoveOn.org petition (written by his sister), the station’s print story, and other local sources refer to him as “Jay Alfie.”
