Wall High School yearbook altered more than just Trump shirts

WALL —Donald Trump slogans weren't the only images not allowed in the Wall Township High School yearbook.

Shirtless torsos also are a big no-no.

A graduating senior from Wall Township High School gave New Jersey 101.5 a look at his yearbook, the one that has stirred controversy after Donald Trump logos were blacked out from the apparel of two juniors and a Trump quotation submitted by the freshman class president was left out.

The book itself is called "Behind the Scenes," 248 pages full of color pictures chronicling the 2016-17 school year.

The yearbook included what many found to be a laughable touch-up of a photo from a Bermuda trip, in which white shirts were digitally added onto male and female students who the photo editors apparently believed were showing too much skin.

The student said next to the Trump controversy, the photo of the trip has gotten the most comments among his friends. But most of his fellow students have been more concerned about their final exams and graduation for the topic to create much of a buzz.

The student said that he got messages from friends in Sweden about the yearbook controversy.

Some seniors have quotations under their portraits that are unattributed. One was from Bruce Springsteen and another from President Franklin Roosevelt.

The underclassman portraits show subjects mostly in casual tops with some T-shirts with nondescript designs. One student has a U.S. Navy emblem on his shirt, another a U.S. flag.

President Trump and opponent Hillary Clinton do appear in the yearbook in a section at the end featuring news, movies, TV and sports highlights from the school year.

The student said the presidential election was a topic of discussion among students but while some teachers' political leanings were obvious, no one tried to sway their students toward a particular candidate. No campaign stickers or signs showed up at school.

He said that Superintendent Cheryl Dyer sent an email after the election to reassure Latino students that the school was safe. The school has an enrollment of 1,207  students with 48 identifying themselves as Hispanic, federal education records show.

Dyer has met with the parents of the students whose pictures were censored and suspended yearbook advisor Susan Parsons. Dyer has not revealed the final conclusion of her investigation of the incident but said students were not involved.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com.

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