What if you were told your innocent joke about your sexual orientation was inappropriate? Well, that is what happened to Sahuaro Senior Riley Conklin. At Sahuaro you get to add a senior quote if you are among the few people who are on honor role. Conklin, submitted her quote which read, “High school is all about hard work and finding yourself. I started my career with straight A’s, and now I’m not even straight”. She believed that it would just crack a few laughs until she received a letter from admin saying her quote was deemed “inappropriate”. Conklin immediately went into action and began a petition stating, “As of January 31, 2017, I, Riley Conklin, am starting a petition to show the support of my yearbook quote that was deemed inappropriate. The quote makes no foul remarks, attacks no group, and only is a form of self-expression. Each signature is a vote for acceptance and a show of support to every kid that struggles to be themselves in a society that rejects too many”. She received an overwhelming amount of support from students, parents, and even teachers, reaching almost 200 signatures in just one afternoon. Conklin gave herself the afternoon to work on a compelling argument to bring to admin the next day, but by the time she was going to admin, word had gotten around and they had already had a change of heart and already approved it.

Riley Conklin showed that she was not afraid to stand up for what was right. Her petition showed that not only was she ready to fight for her right, she was read to fight for “every kid that struggles to be themselves in a society that rejects too many”.