万花筒 2010-04-21&04-22 睡觉睡过头，毕业典礼不得（在线收听）

“It's the thing you've waited your whole life for a walk across the stage with your graduating class.”

Sam Pierce has been an honor student at Wausaukee High School all year and was looking forward to graduating with her class in May. But when the class of 2010 walks across the stage,  Sam Pierce won't be with them.

“I woke up late” Sam says one day in February her alarm didn't work, she woke up around ten o'clock and went to school shortly after. She says she told the office what happened and went to class late, which turned out to be an unexcused absence.

" I could have said anything, I went in there not thinking that I wasn’t gonna be able to walk for graduation and he just said hey I made an honest mistake and I am here. I want to go to class."

School policy says seniors must have no unexcused absences during the second semester of their senior year or they will not be allowed to participate in the commencement exercise.

The school board president would not do an on-camera interview, but he told me over the phone: students are well informed of the school's policy, as far as he's concerned, the matter is closed, and he doesn't see anything that would change it.

"Policy needs to be changed, and you know, they should. Everybody deserves a second chance."

Sam's mother went to the school board last week and asked members to change the policy to allow her daughter to participate in graduation. They did not.

"I can see in the crowd, but I can't be up there with everybody else and I work just as hard as everybody else.

For now, Sam has many memories of her high school days at Wausaukee. But she will likely not be a part of the moment she and the rest of her class have been working toward.