Bad Lesson

Students who support Trump get shock in high school yearbook

One thing is for sure in this politically divided country of ours: Just about everyone has an opinion about President Donald Trump.

The opinions run the gamut all the way from near-fanatical approval to near-fanatical disdain, but it’s rare to find anyone who is completely neutral about the current occupant of the White House.

Of course the same could be said of President Barack Obama. And, perhaps to a lesser extent, President George W. Bush and all those who served before him.

That’s just the way it is. And agree or disagree with anyone’s views, we all have the right to our own. And the right to express them.

But it seems not everyone agrees. Take the case of Wall Township High School in Wall, N.J. Free speech apparently doesn’t apply there—if you support President Trump, that is.

Two students saw their yearbook photos altered when they wore pro-Trump shirts. While the messages were there in the proof photos, there were photoshopped out in the final product. And another student—the freshman class president no less—had asked that a quote from Trump be printed along with her photo. Her photo ran without the quote.

Needless to say these kids and their families aren’t happy. Especially when students in yearbooks past sported shirts with political messages, even some supporting President Obama, with no problem.

School administrators say nothing in the school’s dress code prohibits political messages and the district values free speech. The add the alterations were done without district approval and that the matter is under investigation. In the meantime one teacher has been suspended.

The three students and their parents want the yearbooks reprinted and reissued. We’ll see how that goes.

Yes, we all have a right to our opinions. But none of us should be allowed to deny others that right. What happened at that school New Jersey is not a good lesson for young people to learn.