Davis County students petition 3 schools over use of AI in graduation ceremonies. 1 of them worked

SALT LAKE CITY — A new use of AI this graduation season has been hotly debated among high school students and the administrations in which they attend, with some schools halting their AI plans after student protests, and some proceeding anyway.

The proposal in some Davis School District schools is to use an AI voice to recite graduating seniors’ names during the graduation ceremony. At least three schools considered the option, with one school dropping its plans to use AI altogether and a second that chose to move forward. 

Eva Cowan, 18, is a senior at Northridge High School set to graduate on Thursday. She and the rest of her student body heard the news in April that NHS was going to ditch its usual plan of a person reading graduate names out loud, and instead turn to an AI system called Tassel to announce those names.

“Everyone who heard about that was super upset and angry because we have always been told not to use AI and it’s always been like super looked down upon,” Cowan said. “But all of a sudden, when it helps the people who are in charge, it’s okay.”

On April 21, Cowan started an online petition for those who didn’t want Tassel to be used at Northridge’s 2026 graduation. Over 1,000 signatures and 40 comments later, Northridge decided to cancel its plans to use the AI system.

Cowan said she didn’t expect her petition to take off and felt the experience brought the graduating class together in a unifying way.

“It brought everyone together from all the different backgrounds and it was just really nice to see everyone come together for one common cause,” Cowan said. 

In a petition update, Cowan gave a shoutout to Northridge High School principal Tyler Poll, saying he “fought hard for us.” Poll explained how the school was excited to celebrate its graduating seniors, and that their feedback was heard.

“(The seniors) have worked hard to reach this milestone, and we value their efforts,” Poll said. “After hearing their feedback, we collaborated with the district and will return to the previous plan of having teachers read student names. Ultimately, this is one of the final experiences students will have at Northridge High and within the Davis School District, and we want to make it as positive and meaningful as possible.” 

Layton High School also had a petition in place to stop Tassel from being used at its own graduation ceremony on Thursday. That petition had 234 signatures and four comments.

Layton principal Brock Jackman said the school wanted to improve its graduation experience for students, but after looking into Tassel early on it decided against using the AI system.

“We never provided our students with any indication that we would be using outside services or that our traditional process would change,” Jackman said. “Our plan is to continue to use our internal school processes to provide an outstanding graduation program for our students and community.” 

Davis High School was the third school in the Davis School District with plans to use Tassel.

Although a petition was also created for Davis, and close to 1,000 people signed the petition with 40 comments, the school chose to go forward with its plans to use Tassel during its graduation ceremony set to take place on Friday.

The last update on the petition was on April 26.

“Thank you for signing!,” the update read. “Every signature matters and we couldn’t do it without you! Let’s keep it up!”

As for Cowan, she had a message for students who still felt the need to petition against using AI at their high school graduation ceremonies.

“Keep going and keep sharing with other people,” Cowan said. “The biggest shock to me was just how many people took it up with themselves and sent (the petition) to their friends, posted it on their Instagram stories, and just really encouraged people to keep sharing it.”

How Tassel works

A notice sent out in a newsletter by Davis High said colleges that have used Tassel include Utah Valley University, the University of Utah and Brigham Young University. The idea for the district’s high schools to use Tassel came after an assistant superintendent with the district saw the system successfully used at a Brigham Young University graduation ceremony, according to communications director Christopher Williams.

“It is critical that the pronunciation of the name of every graduate is correct, and our desire was to be able to deliver that same level of accuracy at our own graduation ceremonies,” Williams said. “Our high school graduations are, of course, the pinnacle of a K-12 education.”

That’s when the three schools entered a discovery period with Tassel, and planned to move forward with it as a pilot program, until two of the schools changed their minds.

“What is being used at graduation is not ‘artificial intelligence’ in the way it is often discussed in classrooms,” Davis High said. “No writing, thinking, or content creation is happening. The system draws from a large, established bank of previously recorded name pronunciations and phonetic patterns.”

Davis High added that students are able to approve the pronunciation or provide their own recording in advance.

“Historically, students with less familiar or more complex names have been those most likely to experience mispronunciation on graduation day,” the school explained. “This system was selected specifically to help ensure that every student — regardless of background — has their name spoken clearly and as they wish it to be heard, while also addressing long‑standing challenges with volume and audibility in large venues.”

However, Cowan shared that Northridge’s Hispanic graduates had a hard time getting Tassel to pronounce their names correctly.

“(Tassel) has you phonetically spell out your name, which was really problematic for our Hispanic population at Northridge. Getting the pronunciations right, and it was just… really annoying,” Cowan said.

The school argued the system compares to everyday tools students use in the classroom.

“In this sense, the technology functions much like tools students already use every day — such as spell check, grammar assistance, speech‑to‑text, or predictive text — to support accuracy and clarity while keeping human choice and identity at the center.”

The school added the system was not meant to replace people or devalue students. 

Along with the pronunciation, the Davis High newsletter also said the system could provide some visual benefits.

“Each student’s name and any honors earned are displayed on the jumbotron while they cross the stage — further highlighting the individual graduate for family and guests,” the newsletter said, adding “As a backup measure, students will be well prepared to read names live should an unexpected technical issue arise.”

The school added the system was not meant to replace people or devalue students, but rather provided consistent audio quality and volume, predictable pacing and reduced performance pressure.

“We fully recognize that graduation is a deeply personal and emotional moment for students and their families,” the newsletter read. “It is natural for students to have strong feelings about how that moment looks and feels. The intent of this pilot is not to make the ceremony feel impersonal, but to thoughtfully explore ways to improve accuracy, clarity, and equity while maintaining the celebratory spirit of the occasion.”

Davis High School ultimately said feedback from the community, families and students was valued and would be shared with district leadership after graduation.