Speak Up Chapter 19
“He’s a transfer student. He didn’t have a network here, and his grades weren’t the kind that made people automatically trust him.”
“He could have just stood there and stayed silent.”
“But he didn’t.”
“Even when the teachers were holding him back, he was still shouting for me.”
“That made me understand something.”
“Silence doesn’t make problems go away. It only makes the people doing wrong things feel safer.”
“That’s why I’m standing here today.”
“I’m running for student council president not for a title, but because I don’t want any other student to stand here, publicly accused, without a clear and fair process to appeal.”
“The student council should not be a tool for personal revenge. And it should not be part of a backroom deal.”
“If I’m elected, I will make the student council budget public.”
“All major decisions will be documented. Any accusation will require verification first.”
“We will never again have a verdict before an investigation.”
“No one should have to go through what I went through.”
“If you want a student council that truly works for students, vote for me.”
When I finished, the gym was silent for two seconds.
Then applause erupted.
I stood on the stage, listening to the sound, my eyes growing hot.
I saw Wade jump to his feet and lift that ugly poster over his head, grinning with ridiculous pride.