Education

Yearbook Yikes

By Vicki Kriz — July 02, 2008 1 min read
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Although they may gripe about their annual photo when yearbooks come out, all students really care about is their place in it, first and last name, forever to be remembered if only within its pages. Students of the Black Student Union at Charter Oak High School in Covina, Calif., whose black population is less than 5 percent, will not be accurately remembered in this year’s yearbook; names that labeled their group photo were not their own, but rather ones that could be considered racially offensive, reported The Los Angeles Times.

School officials say they have spoken to the student believed to be responsible for labeling the photo with filler names such as “Tay Tay Shaniqua” and “Crisphy Nanos” and left the page uncorrected. Other names on the student groups page were made up, however according to the school’s principal, “the BSU ones were what I would consider the most offensive.”

The school printed stickers of the correct names for students to use to cover the fake ones; however, with school already out, students have to go back to the school to receive them. School board President Joseph Probst is unsure of how to clear up what he says is an “isolated incident.” “It’s not bringing a weapon, not bringing a gun. Does it rise to a hate crime? That’s going to take some looking into before we do that,” he said. And one nagging question remains, what adult was on duty?

A version of this news article first appeared in the Web Watch blog.