School forced to apologise to queer students after ‘detestable’ transphobic ‘hate speech’ printed in yearbook
The school district said it would be conducting a “thorough investigation into how this was allowed to happen”. (Highland High School/ Facebook and Nina Velazquez/ Facebook)
A high school in Utah apologised after it allowed a shockingly transphobic senior quote to be printed in its yearbook, described by the school district as “abhorrent hate speech”.
The vile quote sparked outrage after it was posted online by a student at Highland High School, Salt Lake City, Utah.
The student who exposed the yearbook quote wrote: “I’m not usually one to post. But I can’t help but post about this.
“I am a student at Highland High School going into my senior year. Due to the coronavirus our school did not receive its yearbook until today.
“Shockingly, one of the senior quotes was not as funny as the rest.”
The photo showed the yearbook photo of a senior accompanied by the quote: “There are only two genders and a lot of mental illness”.
The student who shared the image continued: “This is a clear attack towards the trans community at Highland. As a member of the the LQBTQ+ [community], this was extremely offensive to me and many of the students at my school.
“I demand action to be taken against the student and the administrator that made it so hate speech could go into our 2020 year book.
“The quotes were submitted before COVID started and the yearbook came out late. There is no excuse for this. Please help me make this public so he can face the consequences of his actions.”
School district superintendent apologises for transphobic yearbook quote.
According to Fox13, the Salt Lake City School District and the Highland High School principal have now been forced to apologise for the transphobic yearbook quote.
The school district’s interim superintendent Larry Madden said in a statement: “This yearbook quote is absolutely unacceptable and in no way reflective of the Salt Lake City School District, the value we place on every student, and the standards we strive to uphold.
“Let me make it clear that the Salt Lake City School District condemns hate speech in any form.
“I would also like to issue an apology to any students or community members who have suffered or felt attacked because of this detestable statement. To have something like this included in one of our high school yearbooks is abhorrent.”
Madden said the school district aimed to provide a safe learning environment for queer students and added: “To our LGBTQIA+ and other marginalised students I say, please know how deeply your teachers, school administrators, and district leaders care about you and your well-being. This quote was offensive and inappropriate.”
He said the school district would be conducting a “thorough investigation into how this was allowed to happen”.
Highland High School principal Jeremy Chatterton added: “The inclusion of this quote in the yearbook is more than just an administrative oversight; it is an affront, an attack on our Highland community and our LGBTQIA+ community in particular.
“As principal, I will not allow hate speech like this in my school community.
“While the student in question has graduated, I want to reassure community members that I will take the steps necessary to make sure something like this is never allowed to happen again.”
