I too, have received many "offers" over the years to go back and tell all what I've been up to in the context of rationalizing why I should receive a diploma. In my case, I did not even graduate. I was told to leave in no uncertain terms a few weeks before the end of the school year; no reason was given but it was right before one of the purges so I imagine I was considered in that boat. I had to hitchhike home two states away.
It was many years before I dared to apply to college. I found out that I had amassed so many Carnegie credits -- in part due to coming back the extra year (I had been informed that I would not be able to receive a diploma otherwise, and didn't anyway as it turned out) -- that I had almost twice that required to be considered a high school graduate. With the support of friends, I mustered up the courage to call the school to request my transcript. Knowing Hyde, I requested (from Bob Bertschy) that only the transcript be sent, NO additional information. I was assured that this would be done. A few months passed. After a few more phone calls, I finally received my copy of the transcript, which had been sent to the schools I requested. An additional page had been included, written by Bertschy, detailing how I did not receive a diploma but only a "certificate" as I had failed to live up to the standards of a diploma. Moreover, Bertschy saw fit to detail many of my "character flaws" as well as his assessment of my potential success (or lack thereof). His diatribe was several paragraphs long and essentially covered the entire page.
What I have related above is but the tiniest of iceberg tips of the eviscerating damage I feel I have suffered at the hands of Hyde. I feel so traumatized that I really can not talk to anyone about it; I have been living under a rock emotionally for the past 30 years.
I concur with the above poster earlier today who describes people's need for a diploma: "It is very difficult to walk out of a place that dominates your sense of self worth and not be acknowledged. There is a need for resolution or closure." However, given my own personal history of the place, I am afraid that I can not do so. My feeling about going back to receive my diploma is that it is not a question of whether or not I feel I deserve it. It is a question of whether I would deign to have my name associated with Hyde, and the answer is "no."