An Idaho high school student handed the superintendent a copy of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ during her graduation ceremony in protest of her school’s book ban.
Annabelle Jenkins was one of 44 students to graduate at the Idaho Fine Arts Academy graduation ceremony on May 23.
According to Idaho EdNews, The Handmaid’s Tale is one of 10 books the West Ada School District removed from the school library in December, as the adaptation of the dystopian society featured illustrations of sexual violence.
Jenkins decided to take a stance against this, in a video that was shared on her TikTok page and has amassed 24.3 million views.
Watch the moment below:
Donning the usual graduation attire complete with cap and gown, the graduate walked across the stage, shook everyone’s hands, and gave West Ada Superintendent Derek Bub a graphic novel adaptation of the famous book, written by Margaret Atwood and Renee Nault.
But Bub refused to take it from her hands, so Jenkins ultimately put it on the floor by his feet before she walked off stage.
“I just realized that I did not want to walk across that stage and get my diploma and shake the superintendent’s hand. I just did not want to do that,” she told KTVB.
“I got up there and I got the book out. I kind of showed it to the audience really quick. He crossed his arms like this and he wouldn’t take it,” she added.
Jenkins said her defiant act came out of frustration over the ban, and how the district did not ask students for their opinions on the matter.
“My main issue with this particular situation was that the teacher that was contesting it never read the book,” she said. “I don’t like to be the center of attention or do things just to like get a reaction. So when I do things, I want it to be very purposeful.”
“I want people to know that this is something deeply, deeply important to me,” Jenkins continued. “My goal was never to be disruptive or mess up the ceremony. And I really don’t believe that I did.”
“I mean, at the end of the day, I think that that was my time on stage and that was my moment and that was something that was important to me to do,” she argued.
The graduate revealed that she read the book when she was in seventh or eighth grade and the graphic novel adaptation when she was a sophomore in high school.
“It is a book with a lot of heavy themes, and it has some very difficult scenes to get through. It does deal with a lot of sexual themes,” she said. “I believe a word that I’ve heard tossed around about that book was ‘p***ographic,” which I very strongly disagree with.”
She added that she believes the graphic novel is a “very tasteful way of adapting it,” and acknowledges that some scenes may be harder for some readers.
“I just don’t think that’s a reason for it to be banned,” she said.
The school district also set up a review team – consisting of the chief academic officer, an English teacher, and a middle school and high school principal – and they decided to also remove 10 other books, including “A Stolen Life” by Jaycee Dugard, “Kingdom of Ash” by Sarah J. Maas and “Water for Elephants” by Sarah Gruen.
The West Ada School District told the Idaho Statesman that Jenkins’ protest “unfortunately overshadowed the celebratory occasion,” per Daily Mail.
“While we respect the right to voice concerns, it is important to maintain the focus on the achievements and hard work of our students during such significant milestones,” spokesperson Niki Scheppers said.
