Posted on May 12, 2017

North Carolina High School Confiscates All Its Yearbooks Claiming White Female Student’s ‘Build That Wall’ Quote is ‘Inappropriate’

Jennifer Smith, Daily Mail, May 12, 2017

Build that Wall High School Yearbook Quote

A North Carolina high school has confiscated all its senior yearbooks and is reprinting them because it believes a white female student’s ‘build that wall’ quote was inappropriate.

Richmond Early College High School is a predominantly white public school in Hamlet, North Carolina, with 214 students.

Its staff recalled its senior yearbooks this week after a screenshot of one female student’s photograph and quote appeared on social media, sparking accusations from critics that the state is ‘racist’.

The blonde student, who beamed in her posed-for photograph wearing a string of pearls, gave the Trump campaign slogan as her quote for the book and attributed it to the president.

Teachers now say that the remark amounted to ‘inappropriate conduct’ which it would not ‘tolerate’.

It recollected the 22 yearbooks which had already been distributed among students and is reprinting them.

The decision had divided opinion among residents on social media. Some agreed with the decision while others said it infringed on the girl’s first amendment rights.

The student did not face any disciplinary action and it is not known what her new quote will be.

In a statement, Richmond County Schools said there were also ‘errors’ in the yearbooks which had been put together by students.

‘Earlier this week, it was discovered by school administration that Richmond Early College yearbooks had errors and inappropriate comments.

Schoolboard staff explained its decision in a statement on Facebook and said it was working to ‘correct’ the comment

‘The principal immediately collected the distributed yearbooks.

‘We regret that this incident has occurred and are currently working with the yearbook’s publisher to make corrections.

Some welcomed it, claiming the quote, which refers to President Trump’s plan to construct a wall along the Mexican border, is offensive to the school’s Hispanic students.

‘When one has a negative connotation to a huge majority of the school then it’s a problem,’ said one female student.

A local white man said the students were each entitled to their own political beliefs and opinions.

‘When did the first amendment become inappropriate? It’s pathetic that students approaching graduation are not mature enough to handle words on a page,’ he said.

Others accused the school of censorship.

Of the school’s 214 students, around 60 percent are white and the remainder belong to minorities.