How is Visalia campus reacting to viral slur photo? Here’s what students said
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- LGBTQ students and allies report feeling targeted, unheard, and unsafe on campus.
- District confirms disciplinary action; reiterates 'see something, say something' reporting
- Redwood seniors seek to move past viral homophobic slur photo incident.
Redwood High School senior students in Visalia want the “homophobic slur” photo incident behind them, while other students said they worry that the incident shows that LGBTQ+ students are not treated with respect in the community and don’t feel safe.
Last week, a group of Redwood’s ASB students took a picture spelling out an anti-gay slur at the school’s gymnasium after their senior picture day on Thursday, Feb. 12.
The photo, which was condemned by LGBTQ advocates and others in the community, has circulated on social media. It has gone viral and sparked national attention and backlash.
The Fresno Bee spoke with some seniors students Wednesday outside of school campus. The students interviewed were not involved with the photo in question.
“I didn’t think it was gonna get this big,” said Redwood senior Luke Sanchez of the photo getting national attention.
“It was a little bigger than expected, getting talked about a lot,” said another senior, Noah Robles, of the photo going viral for the wrong reasons. “Obviously, they made a poor choice.”
Senior Kevin De Haro said the photo was a bad idea but that there has been a backlash against the ASB students involved and their families that he thinks is unfortunate.
“I don’t think what they did was right,” he said, “but I don’t think they should be getting all the hate to their families and stuff. I don’t think none of that is right. And I think that we should all just move on and just try to get this final year over with.”
The viral photo shows a group of eight ASB students, male and female, spelling out “2 FAG6OTS” while sitting next to each other on the bleachers. In the photo, each letter or number in the slur is individually emblazoned on a T-shirt, so that when the students are arranged seated next to each other, along a bleacher row, the message is spelled out.
The shirts were originally meant to spell “ALWAYS LEGIT, CLASS OF 2026” as part of their senior photo.
According to news reports, the school’s associated student body was leading an eighth-grade orientation on Thursday when some ASB leaders reacted to two middle-school boys holding hands earlier in the day by rearranging themselves to spell the homophobic slur after their official senior photo was taken at the gym around fourth period.
School officials said the incoming freshmen did not witness the message or the photo being taken while they were on school campus for orientation.
A Redwood senior, who doesn’t want to be named due to fear of retaliation that could impact upcoming graduation, told The Fresno Bee that senior photo day was supposed to be a memorable moment for the graduating Class of 2026. But it has become a national sensation, creating public outrage, because of the actions of students in leadership roles who were supposed to represent the class in the community.
The anonymous senior student said that many Redwood students who are part of the LGBTQ+ community not only feel targeted and unsafe, but they also feel silenced because of the photo incident.
“People that aren’t part of the LGBTQ community seem standard. They seem indifferent about it,” said the senior student about the overall atmosphere at school after the incident and three-day weekend holiday.
“You hear opinions from both sides, where some people say that people are taking it too far out of proportion, and that, in quote, ‘it’s not that big of a deal’. And then you get the LGBTQ community, and even just supporters of it, who say that they feel kind of invisible or unheard,” said the senior student. “And I think that’s mainly where their concern comes from. I don’t think their concern is physical harm, but more of just not being understood or heard.”
Visalia Unified School District confirmed the high school has a SAGA (Sexuality and Gender Alliance) club on campus for LGBTQ students and allies.
Superintendent Kirk Shrum said the wellbeing of students and the community after the incident has been a concern for the district.
According to the district, the involved students have faced “disciplinary action.” However, the district said specific details of the investigation won’t be made public, such as how many ASB senior students were involved or how they were disciplined.
Shrum said the district wants to make sure all students know that “see something, say something” processes are in place for students to use when they see or hear something that isn’t right or that is offensive. Shrum said he wants to ensure that school is an environment where students know that these types of incidents are “not acceptable” and that they are encouraged to report them.
“If we don’t know something’s happening,” he said, “it’s hard to act.”
This story was originally published February 20, 2026 at 2:25 PM with the headline "How is Visalia campus reacting to viral slur photo? Here’s what students said."
