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Yearbook inserts
of gay high school student in New Jersey not delivered
at graduation ceremony

Yearbook inserts
of gay high school student in New Jersey not delivered
at graduation ceremony

Newark, N.J.'s East Side High School's class of 2007 graduated Wednesday after a controversy spurred by a decision to black out a yearbook photo of a gay student kissing his boyfriend. As part of an apology to the student, the school district's superintendent promised to distribute yearbook inserts of the student as part of the graduation ceremony but failed to do so, reports The [Newark] Star-Ledger. Deciding the image of Andre Jackson with his boyfriend was too explicit for a high school yearbook, superintendent Marion Bolden instructed the staff to black out the photograph last week. Later, Bolden publicly and personally apologized to Jackson for the decision. As part of her apology, Bolden promised Jackson that during graduation he would receive an uncensored copy of the book and students would get photocopies of his tribute page to insert into their yearbooks. However, neither was delivered on the day of the graduation. However, Jackson did not seem angry or spiteful at the ceremony. "I'm better--I'm moving on and happy I have such great friends," Jackson told the Star-Ledger. Other students expressed disappointment that the insert wasn't issued as promised. "We didn't get what we wanted, but we won't let that overshadow our graduation," said Crystal Mendez, who added that she hoped the situation would raise awareness about the difficulties of growing up gay in Newark. (The Advocate)

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