My Advice for the Idaho Student Barred From Graduation for Saying 'Guys Are Guys and Girls Are Girls'

With June comes Graduation Season. We had one granddaughter walk this year, and that was in another state. My wife went and I stayed home to watch the dogs. I’ve always been ambivalent about graduations. I loathed high school and was just glad to be out. The end of college meant that I would need to find gainful employment and wait for my first student loan notice to arrive in the mail. But I know for many people, graduation is a big deal, not just for the graduates but their families. Graduation was probably a big deal for Travis Lohr, a senior at Kellogg High School in Kellogg, Idaho.

There is a tradition at Kellogg in which graduating seniors pass on bits of wisdom to underclassmen. Seizing the moment, Travis decided to depart from his pre-approved remarks and said, “Guys are guys and girls are girls. There is no in-between.” Now back during the Pleistocene when I was in high school, we would have wondered why someone needed to even bring this up since it has pretty much been a truism since life developed beyond single-celled organisms on this planet. But we know why Travis decided to say it, and we know why it needed to be said. But those two sentences were enough to keep Travis from walking with his class. The school principal, Dan Davidian decided Travis’ comment was enough to bar him from graduation exercises.

Travis is not alone in his sentiment. According to an article by the Idaho Freedom Foundation, Travis commented, “I didn’t direct it at any groups or anything like that; it was just something I chose to say in the moment. There was a short pause, and then an uproar of cheers.” After the news broke, 100 students walked out of school in support of Travis. Among them was school bus driver Dakota Mailloux, who was participating in the demonstration off the clock. But Mailloux’s presence was enough to get him called on the carpet by Davidian, who fired the man.

IFF notes that the school canceled classes for the day and issued a message stating that the sheriff’s office had concerns about safety issues posed by “outside groups and agitators.” In other words, the group of students and a bus driver. Graduation would be rescheduled when it was determined that commencement exercises could be safely held. IFF  also stated that the new sheriff, Holly Lindsey, is married to Rachel Clark-Krusemark. Clark-Krusemark is an art teacher at Kellogg High School and is a proponent of the leftist agenda in the small mining town. But that is totally unrelated to Travis’ situation. Right? We can trust the government and our schools. Right? Right?

Travis not only lost his chance to walk at graduation. He also lost his job. The Blaze reports that Travis had been hired by the U.S. Forest Services as a wildland firefighter. But he was fired from that job. On one hand, I feel for him. I loved my time on the engine and the fire line. On the other hand, if he thinks he had a rough time at the hands of Principal Davidian and Kellogg High School, he would have had his hands full contending with the Dread Hydra of Wokeness that infests the federal government with its employees displaying their preferred pronouns on their name badges. Fate may have done him a favor.

I won’t bother addressing the congress of idiots behind this ridiculous stunt. But Travis, if by some chance you read this, here is my advice to you:

If you have passed your pack test and have your red card, check with your state forestry office. Or you may even want to look a little farther south and ping Utah’s Forestry Fire and State Lands. It’s a little late in the season for hiring, but they may have something available.

Second and perhaps more importantly, this, too, shall pass. I know everyone makes a big deal over high school graduation. But eventually, you move on. You throw out that tassel hanging on your rear-view mirror. And that cap and gown in the back of your closet? You’ll chuck those too. The cap is good for nothing and the gowns are usually made of polyester. They aren’t even useful for turning into shop rags.

What you did was far braver than anything you could have done with a Pulaski or combi in your hands. You spoke the truth. Our politicians can’t do that. Our press can’t do that. Principal Davidian couldn’t even do that. Where the leaders fail, the Everyman will succeed. You did what a man is supposed to do. And in doing so, you gave hope to those of us who finally see our twilight on the distant horizon and know that our efforts have not been in vain. Your parents raised a fine son. I have no doubt that you will do the same.