A Glenbard South High School senior's decision to display a Palestinian flag and wear a keffiyeh during the 2025 graduation ceremony has sparked strong reactions in the Glen Ellyn community, with District 87 officials stating there is no policy prohibiting political displays.
“A policy regarding political displays, symbols or flags during graduation ceremonies does not exist in Glenbard District 87,” Nathan Lindquist, Interim Community Relations Coordinator Glenbard District 87, told DuPage Policy Journal.
The student, identified as Halima, walked across the stage with a large keffiyeh draped over her graduation gown and a “Free Palestine” flag around her neck.
After receiving her diploma, Halima briefly turned to face the audience and unfurled the flag, an act captured by the official school photographer.
The display came just hours after a deadly anti-Semitic attack in Washington, D.C., in which two Jewish Embassy staffers were murdered by a gunman who shouted pro-Palestinian slogans—a timing that some community members said heightened the emotional impact of the gesture.
Lindquist did not say whether the district planned to take any disciplinary action or review graduation protocols in light of the incident.
“Every year, each school administrative team reviews the success and struggles of running large events, such as graduation,” he said. “These reviews focus on what works well and what changes may be necessary to have events that are celebratory, inclusive, safe and efficient.”
As of now, the district has not released any formal statement addressing the specific incident or any plans for future policy changes.
“The district has not made any statements regarding this student's or any student's actions,” Lindquist said.
However, community reaction has been swift.
Glen Ellyn resident Amy Grandsard called the display “unacceptable” and “frightening” in an email to school officials.
"Are political statements and inferences and flags now allowed at Glenbard South graduation? Would you allow a student to pull out a Nazi flag and walk across the stage and have them photographed with their diploma holding this piece of propaganda," she wrote. "Both flags have same message. Kill the Jews. What will the consequences be?"
Grandsard expressed her outrage directly in correspondence with school officials.
"You allowed this student to walk across the stage, display the Palestinian flag, and be photographed. What a disgrace," she said.
Commentator Laurie Higgins also condemned the act in a column for Breakthrough Ideas, calling it “deeply inappropriate” and accusing the school of allowing a divisive political statement to overshadow a ceremony meant for unity.
Higgins further argued that the keffiyeh and “Free Palestine” flag are widely viewed as symbols of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic sentiment, particularly in light of recent events.
She also contrasted the school’s inaction with what she sees as double standards in how political speech is judged depending on its ideological leaning.
“According to leftists, when conservatives say cross-dressing men who wish they were women don’t belong in women’s private spaces, they—conservatives—are culpable for any harm done to cross-dressing men,” Higgins wrote. “When, however, leftists on campuses explicitly call for intifada against anyone who supports Israel, they have no culpability for murderous actions committed against Jews. Both the keffiyeh and the Free Palestine flag proudly displayed at Glenbard last night are associated with calls for Intifada.”
She also recalled an incident from Glenbard South’s graduation four years ago in which then-principal Sandra Coughlin sparked outrage by omitting key phrases from the Pledge of Allegiance, which attendees viewed as a disrespectful and divisive act.
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