Family and friends filed into the Mississippi Coast Coliseum for the 2026 D’Iberville High School graduation ceremony, quickly filling up the stadium bleachers. Parents took photos of their children on the jumbotron, which flashed portraits of roughly 400 seniors — females presenting graduates posed with an elegant drape, and male ones with a sharp tuxedo.
But when the portrait popped up of this year’s salutatorian, Jonas Hole, he was shown in a full graduation gown covering any clothing that might point to one gender or another. On May 17, D’Iberville High School published a Facebook post that used Hole’s former name and allegedly edited his photograph to appear more feminine. Hole is a transmasculine graduate whose chosen name of Jonas differs from his legal name.
But the social media post was not the only incident in recent days where D’Iberville High students appeared to be singled out over their gender. While Hole’s case is the highest profile one, D’Iberville High School has targeted at least five other graduating seniors because they are transgender or do not follow the school’s gender presentation norms, said Tara Shay Montgomery, an LGBTQ+ advocate who has been in contact with the students, their parents and teachers. On May 15 when school staff distributed yearbooks, transgender students found their photos were missing. They have still not received an explanation for this decision, advocates say.
School officials addressed the students who walked the stage, including Hole, by their deadnames, or former names, when presenting them with diplomas and in the program. Other students chose not to attend the event, said two community advocates who know their identities.
Principal Cheryl Broadus speaks at the 2026 D’Iberville High School graduation ceremony. Credit: Anna HuAt the ceremony Saturday, D’Iberville High School Principal Cheryl Broadus, who has not provided comment to Mississippi Today after multiple requests to the school and administrative offices, introduced Hole with his deadname.
“I would now like to introduce an outstanding young lady who has maintained a 4.404 quality point average and will deliver the salutatory address,” she said.
In his speech, Hole first introduced himself with his former name, then added, “a lot of you know me as Jonas,” before expressing his gratitude at having the opportunity to address the crowd.
He gave shoutouts to the school’s athletics teams and thanked ROTC leadership and fellow cadets for shaping his high school experience. Hole then talked about gathering the courage to advocate for self-expression both for himself and others.
“Despite my own self-acceptance, others judged me without understanding me. I became my label, and it felt as if my achievements, hardships, personality, all became irrelevant for the sole fact that I present myself differently,” he said.
According to several advocates from the Transgender Resources, Advocacy, Networking and Services Program and allies who attended the ceremony in support of transgender and LGBTQ+ seniors, the speech was both respectful of the school and acknowledged Hole’s specific challenges as a transgender student.
“I think that he showed exactly why he was salutatorian in the way that he spoke,” Montgomery said. While the advocate and local drag queen wasn’t able to attend the ceremony, she saw the speech on Facebook and told Mississippi Today that it was a kind, “above the belt” way to address Hole’s situation.
“All the words were very, very thoughtfully chosen. They were effective. They were not judgmental or confrontational, but they were stern and swift and sincere.”
The 2026 graduating class of D’Iberville High School toss their caps in the air at Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi May 23, 2026. Credit: Anna HuWhile D’Iberville High School has received the most attention for how they treated transgender students, Montgomery said similar incidents have occurred across Harrison County this year. She said she has been contacted by mothers of students from D’Iberville, Gulfport and Harrison Central high schools seeking support for their kids or their friends’ kids who were being negatively impacted by school policies.
The first person who contacted Montgomery was Marivel Watson, the former Scout leader for one of the impacted students. Watson said she found out that several students had been excluded from the yearbook through her daughter, a graduating senior who knows several of the affected students. While Watson’s daughter was in the yearbook, she was upset that her friends weren’t.
When the students asked why this had happened, they were told that it had been Principal Broadus’ decision, Watson said. A former Scout member told Watson that Broadus had called his mother to say his photo had been removed because of his septum piercing, Watson said. Broadus cited the Harrison School District dress codes, which allow for “one small, non-distracting nose stud,” but no other facial piercings. This student wore the same piercing in his junior year portrait, and was included in the yearbook. Broadus was also school principal at the time.
Watson said she understands the need to use a student’s legal name on legal documentation but can’t see why school officials wouldn’t address graduating students with their chosen name otherwise.
“What harm is in calling that student by their preferred name, especially in a huge public setting like that?” she said.
At Harrison Central High School, another parent reached out to Montgomery because her transgender daughter was forced to wear a tuxedo for her senior portrait. The student chose to take her photo with the school’s attire, but also with her hair down and a full face of makeup.
If anything about the situation has been positive, Montgomery said, it was seeing the community rally to support the children. She pointed to the network of parents who reached out to her, organizations such as Gulf Coast Association of Pride, Gulf Coast Equality and TRANS Program working together, and teachers who risked their jobs to give her information about students they knew were struggling.
Through this network, at least 30 people showed up to the ceremony in support of affected students, Montgomery said.
Small contingents of people wearing rainbow apparel or transgender-affirming T-shirts were present in the crowds outside the Coliseum, as graduates flocked to celebrate with their family and friends.
At the ceremony, Hole ended his speech by thanking his mentors and quoting Romans 15:7, “Accept one another then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”
“To everyone here today, I hope all of you at some point in your life feel that same freedom I get to feel by living every day unapologetically,” he said. “Be yourself, no matter who tries to stop you from doing so.”
This story was produced with support from the Sarah Yelena Haselhorst Fund for Health Journalism.
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