Outrage Erupts at HS Censoring Yearbook Photos of Students Protesting Florida Bill: WATCH
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A high school principal in Seminole Florida is delaying senior students’ year books because he’s covering photos that protest the state’s so called “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Students at a Seminole County high school were supposed to get their yearbooks on Monday but there were some images in them that canceled the distribution.
The school district says photos of students protesting Florida’s so-called Don’t Say Gay bill in March will be covered up before the books are released to students.
The yearbook photos that Lyman High School wants to cover show students holding a “Love is Love” sign and rainbow flags during a walkout protest in March.
Principal Michael Hunter said the event was not sponsored or endorsed by the school.
Hunter sent a message to the school on Monday addressing why the distribution is being delayed: “Earlier today I announced that the distribution of the Lyman Yearbook would be delayed. The distribution is being delayed in order to assure the yearbook meets all aspects of Seminole County School Board policies, particularly as it pertains to non-school sponsored events contained in school publications. Unfortunately, the pictures and descriptions that depicted this event did not meet school board policy and were not caught earlier in the review process. Rather than reprinting the yearbook at substantial cost and delay, we have elected to cover the material that is out of compliance with board policy so that yearbooks can be distributed as soon as possible. Our yearbook staff has done a wonderful job of capturing many aspects of our students’ experience. Overall, the yearbook celebrates Lyman’s history, diversity and inclusivity. I look forward to everyone getting to see the yearbook and having the opportunity to enjoy it themselves.”
Recent Lyman High School graduate Madi Koesler captured the images during the walkout protest.
“These are my photos and I think the students should be able to see them because taking away these photos is silencing their voices,” Koesler said. “This was a protest that wasn’t met with much resistance by administration and we were easily able to take pictures of the kids in the courtyard. They were celebrated; they were chanting.”
The yearbook’s co-editor in chief Skye Tiedemann and lead photographer Enok Arocho say the school usually lets them take charge of what to document and publish in every spread.
“When my teacher first told me [about the cover] I was just completely shocked,” Tiedemann said. “Every single morning on the announcements Mr. Hunter says that we are historic, we are diverse and we are inclusive and clearly in our yearbook we are trying to portray that with the LGBTQ community.”
The students have launched a social media campaign called Stop The Stickers in an effort to fight back against the covering of the photos.
“An event that we had planned for [Monday] after school which was the distribution [of the yearbooks] to all the seniors had to be canceled because of the censorship of our book,” Arocho said.
Some students on the yearbook team are planning to attend Tuesday’s school board meeting so they can speak up against the covering of the yearbook photos.
