Teen Is Banned From High School Graduation for Refusing To Take Off Her Traditional Garb

Julian Benzon/Facebook

The family of a California high school senior claims the administration at her school would only allow her to walk in her graduation ceremony if she complied with a very specific request.

Sophia Noelani Iliana Benzon and her family are Pacific Islanders who wanted to honor their Hawaiian heritage by having Sophia wear traditional leis during the ceremony. But they say minutes before Sophia was set to walk in the graduation ceremony, Eastlake High School officials told her to remove the leis or leave.

A viral video of the encounter shocked TikTok users. Sophia's brother, Kainoa Benzon, shared the video on his TikTok page, @kainoa.b, where it has been viewed more than 6 million times. The family claims the school district gave them permission in advance to wear the leis but says Sophia was ultimately denied participation in the ceremony for not removing them.

The video appears to show the family arguing with administrators about the leis.

@kainoa.b On June 7, 2024, @ 6:22 pm, My sister was denied from walking at her graduation minutes before her ceremony because school staff would not let her wear traditional Hawaiian lei’s. After getting further approval from the district board to wear them, faculty members further then restricted access to having her phone and forced Sophia, A MINOR, to verbally say she was not going to participate in the ceremony in order for her to contact her parents after the fact. They held her in another building as the graduation ceremony was taking place and there she was discriminated and excluded from her peers as she stood crying in disbelief waiting for her family to arrive. Eastlake High School took this evening which was supposed to be the end of a chapter to celebrate and turned it into a tragedy for her and her family. Hawaiian culture should not be excluded or dictated by school policies whatsoever. So much for inclusivity and diversity if you’re going to discriminate tradition from all Pacific Islanders. #shameoneastlakehigh #racism #hawaiianlivesmatter ♬ original sound - Kainoa.b

In the video, Eastlake High School administrators tell Sophia that she must remove the leis if she wants to walk in the ceremony. Her family argues that the school district had already given her permission to wear them, but officials refuse to budge.

A woman apologizes, and Sophia's father, Kurt Benzon, says during the confrontation, "I don't want to hear sorry. I want my daughter to be on that field walking with her traditional garb like every one of my other family members who have graduated."

Sophia was apparently given an ultimatum.

The video's caption claims Sophia was given permission to wear the leis but that it was taken away before the ceremony.

"My sister was denied from walking at her graduation minutes before her ceremony because school staff would not let her wear traditional Hawaiian lei's. After getting further approval from the district board to wear them, faculty members further then restricted access to having her phone and forced Sophia, A MINOR, to verbally say she was not going to participate in the ceremony in order for her to contact her parents after the fact," it reads.

"They held her in another building as the graduation ceremony was taking place and there she was discriminated and excluded from her peers as she stood crying in disbelief waiting for her family to arrive," the caption continues. "Eastlake High School took this evening which was supposed to be the end of a chapter to celebrate and turned it into a tragedy for her and her family. Hawaiian culture should not be excluded or dictated by school policies whatsoever."

Benzon's video quickly went viral.

It has been viewed millions of times, and viewers shared their outrage in the comment section.

"This is so disrespectful and ruined that poor girl's graduation," one person wrote. "The parents should seek legal action. Congratulations pretty girl on your graduation ❤."

Many others agreed.

"This is insane. Everytime she thinks about her graduation she's going to remember this ," another person commented.

They loved that Sophia's father stood up for her.

"Thats so wrong!! SHOUT OUT TO DAD FOR BEING VOCAL FOR HIS FAMILY N CULTURE. The schools shouldnt have ANY say in what these graduates wesr during," someone else wrote.

Some were confused by what they saw.

TikTokers who claimed to be from Hawaii wrote that leis aren't allowed at their graduations and didn't understand why Sophia would want to wear them.

"I from Hawaii public school, and we don't even get to walk the ceremony with our leis on," someone wrote.

Another agreed, commenting, "Wait, I'm from Hawaii and graduated in Hawaii, and I never got to wear leis during my high school ceremony??"

This person questioned the confrontation as well: "born and raised in Hawai'i, we weren't allowed to wear leis or hakus until after the ceremony."

Kainoa responded, writing, "Sophia is Ali'i; she wears her lei during the ceremony just like all her other ancestors before her ."

Ali'i evidently refers to nobility, a line of rulers in Hawaiian culture.

Sophia reportedly left the graduation ceremony.

According to a Facebook post by her brother, Julian Benzon, Sophia walked out of the gym and did not participate in the graduation ceremony with her classmates.

"Eastlake High school would not let my little sister, Sophia Noelani Iliana Benzon, walk during her graduation because of her Leis. They told her she either takes it off or she leaves," he wrote. "So she held her head high and left. And we gave her more flowers in the parking lot and embraced our strong Hawaiian princess in tears on her special day #justiceforsophia."