CHULA VISTA, Calif. — It was supposed to be one of the happiest days of her life.
Instead, a student at Eastlake High School left her graduation ceremony in tears.
At issue: The leis she was wearing to celebrate her Hawaiian culture.
Like a lot of seniors, Sophia Benzon was excited to finally have her moment. But, minutes before the ceremony, she was told to either remove her leis or she couldn't walk.
"It's sad. It's really really sad," said Kurt Benzon, Sophia’s dad.
It's not the graduation day he had envisioned for his daughter.
Cell phone video captured the moment high school staff members told Sophia the two leis she was wearing, one on her head and another around her neck, weren't allowed at graduation.
In the video, you can hear Sophia's dad explain their significance.
The family also told staff not only did they receive permission from the principal in advance, but Sophia's own siblings were allowed to wear them when they graduated from the same school.
As all of this was happening, Sophia was in tears.
"It was just anger, disappointment, disappointed in lack of communication to the staff and more, so disappointed that they're doing this to my daughter, and nobody wants to see their kids in pain," said Benzon.
Despite his best efforts, Benzon said the school wouldn't budge.
They gave his daughter a choice: Take the leis off or don't walk.
She chose to leave.
“We taught her to stand up for what, what's right and do the right thing, and I believe she did the right thing,” said Benzon.
Sophia's family, some of whom flew in for the ceremony, told CBS 8 that while they're proud of her, they'll never get over the fact she was stripped of an opportunity she worked hard for, and wrongfully so.
The graduation pamphlet reads no one will be discriminated based on their ancestry.
"There's nothing that you can do that's going to bring this moment back. Nothing. But what you can do is pretty much let the school know. Let social media know. Let everybody know. So this doesn't happen to another child, because it's not just your culture, it's other people's culture," said Violet Havard, Sophia’s grandmother.
Social media as well as the school district have both taken notice.
The video has been shared and viewed by people everywhere, including Joann Fields with API initiative, who said she wants accountability.
“There are cultural trainings, there are specific departments now for diversity, equity and inclusion. So how did this happen? Why was she singled out? And again, we need to create a policy to ensure this does not happen again,” said Fields.
A spokesperson for the district released a statement saying:
“We acknowledge the recent incident that occurred at the Eastlake High Graduation Ceremony. Upon receiving the complaint, we conducted a thorough review of the situation.
After careful consideration, we have notified the family that we concur with the family's assessment that the adornments being requested to wear meet the standards of "traditional tribal regalia or recognized objects of cultural or religious significance" at graduation ceremonies. We fully support the inclusion of cultural and religious regalia as a means of honoring and celebrating diversity within our student body.
We have shared this with the family as well as offered an apology and remain committed to upholding a welcoming and inclusive environment for all students.”
It's unclear if the employees involved faced any disciplinary action.
WATCH RELATED: UC San Diego places graduation holds on arrested students