Student sparks debate after she was denied diploma due to £11 fee
Jess Hardiman
WARNING: VIDEO ABOVE FEATURES EXPLICIT LANGUAGE
A student has revealed she was denied her diploma as she graduated due to an outstanding $15 (£11) fee that she hadn’t paid.
Ellie McCormick (@estarsecretaccount96) recently posted a video on TikTok, saying: “POV u didn’t get a diploma cuz u lost ur laptop bag freshman year.”
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In the caption, she added: “Hot girls get a pink diploma anyway.”
McCormick was supposed to be receiving her diploma from Millard West High School in Omaha, Nebraska, but it was 'pulled' due to an outstanding fee.
Thankfully, however, the student received a letter explaining that she'd be able to get the diploma once she'd settled up.
The video saw McCormick – wearing her graduation get-up – lip-syncing to Meek Mill’s ‘Going Bad’, mouthing along to the lyrics: “Oh, you rich rich? (You rich rich) / B***h, I graduated, call me Big Fish (Ballin’).”
She then showed a message from her school to the camera, which said her diploma had been ‘pulled’ - all because she had an outstanding fee for a laptop issue, to the sum of just $15.
It said: “Your diploma has been pulled until you have paid your laptop repair fee. Please see the amount below.
“Please come to the Administration Office at Millard West with a check or cash in the amount below. You can pick up your diploma in the office at that time. Our office hours are 7:30am to 3:00pm every weekday.”
Her video racked up more than 700,000 views and 60,000 likes, along with a lot of comments from others who’d been in a similar situation.
“Lmaooo I [paid] 68 dollars for losing my bag and charger literally a few hours before we walked the stage,” one wrote.
Someone else said: “My bio text book fee of $101.”
Another commented: “My school will hold the diploma and won’t let kids walk the stage if they have an unpaid balance.”
A fourth also said: “Yeah I had to pay $25 before I could even get my cap and gown.”
A fifth added: “My school tried to hold my diploma over 75 cents from me breaking a keycap… in the 4th grade."
McCormick replied” “[You’re] s***ting me.”
Tyla has reached out to Millard Public Schools for comment.