A graduation ceremony at a Kansas high school took an unexpected turn when a teacher engaged in forceful interactions with students celebrating their achievements on stage, leading to a chaotic scene.
During the commencement event at Wichita High School East on May 20, an administrator was seen handling students roughly as they went up to receive their diplomas.
Audience members captured video footage showing the unnamed school official aggressively confronting students Key Henderson and Serena Gomez.
The incident began when Henderson seemingly opted to bypass the administrator, resulting in the official seizing him.
The administrator insisted on a handshake before allowing Henderson to proceed with receiving his diploma.
Approximately 20 minutes later, the same staff member forcibly halted Gomez as she expressed her joy on stage.
As she raised her hands in the air, the official grabbed them, gripped her wrist and forced her into a handshake, before handing her a card as she walked away.
Gomez told local outlet KAKE that she felt the administrator’s combativeness ruined her moment and was unnecessary.
Students at Wichita High School East were were manhandled by a school administrator as they crossed the stage to collect their diplomas on May 20
Video shared by stunned audience members showed the administrator, who has not been named, aggressively grab student Serena Gomez when she began to rejoice on the platform
Gomez she felt the administrator’s combativeness ruined her moment and was unnecessary
Her aunt Sabrina Duran had more choice words for the school official, as she shared the video to social media with the caption: ‘That teacher is a b***h.’
The footage of the graduation confrontation divided opinions as it went viral online.
Some accused the teacher of being overly aggressive, while others said he was simply trying to give each student a handshake and a card.
In a statement to KAKE, Wichita Public Schools defended the administrator and said the students’ on-stage celebrations were against graduation policies.
‘There are clear expectations shared with students before the graduation ceremony in order to get all 500 students across the stage in a timely manner so everyone can have their moment to celebrate,’ the statement read.
The Daily Mail has contacted the school district for comment.
The incidents came as another Wichita high school, South High, was also hit with scandal at its graduation.
The high school’s graduation on May 21 descended into chaos as around ten students and teenagers launched into fights on the Wichita State University (WSU) campus.
Wichita Public Schools defended the administrator and said the students’ on-stage celebrations were against graduation policies, and said ‘there are clear expectations shared with students before the graduation ceremony.’ Pictured: Wichita School District Superintendent Kelly Bielefeld
The Wichita school district said the fight happened after most people left Koch Arena, where the graduation had been held earlier in the evening.
In a statement, WSU said: ‘Wichita State University officers responded to a physical altercation outside of Charles Koch Arena following a local high school graduation.
‘In an effort to restore order and prevent further escalation, officers intervened. The incident was brief, no arrests were made, and no injuries were reported.’
That incident came just weeks after another fight at Chester Lewis Learning Academy’s commencement ceremony, in the same school district.
Terrii Moses, Wichita Public Schools Director of Safety and Environmental Services, said after that fight: ‘Anytime you have a large number of people that get together, you have the opportunity for people who don’t get along.
‘Indoor events are much easier to handle, but when you release everybody at the same time, you have the opportunity for people to interact with each other.’
‘We’ve staffed all of our graduations, we believe appropriately,’ said Moses. ‘We always debrief and work with our partners to determine better ways that we can provide security.’
