Northern California high school removes conservative student club logo from group photo
Many parents and students are raising concerns about censorship after a Rocklin high school digitally altered a photo of students, removing a conservative club’s logo from members’ shirts.
The photo was edited after Whitney High School students participated in a campus-wide Inclusion Week event earlier this month.
On May 14, about 50 student leaders in the Associated Student Body participated in a group photo to represent various school-approved clubs. Joining the photo were about 10 students from the club Turning Point USA, a group founded by conservative Charlie Kirk that promotes “freedom, free markets and limited government.” The club is active on more than 2,500 high school and college campuses across the country.
When students gathered for a group photo, some students wore club stickers and pins that read, “I (heart) America, TPUSA,” and “Free Speech.” The logos were small, and illegible in the photo.
But days later, Whitney High student Blake Whitney and others received copies of the photo, and noticed their club name was edited out. Also removed were shirt logos for the Autism Awareness Club.
Whitney, an ASB member and president of Whitney High’s Turning Point USA club, said he felt betrayed when he noticed the edits.
“They are supposed to create a safe and inclusive environment for everyone,” he said. “The fact they excluded the group, it made me feel alienated.”
Whitney said he founded the club at the start of the school year so students on campus could talk about conservative values and had a voice on campus.
Whitney went to staff members, the administration and Rocklin Unified School District officials to complain about the edits. He said he was told by a staff member, “the goal was to make sure that no student had to look at the photo and feel uncomfortable.”
District officials said the symbols were removed from all clubs.
“These stickers included symbols of the clubs and were removed from the group photo with the goal of honoring the group of ASB students without any other club affiliation in the spirit of equity, inclusivity and school unity,” read a statement from district officials.
But Whitney said he believes the other logos were removed because staff couldn’t differentiate between the small Turning Point USA logos and other clubs.
“I feel like this was due to preconceived notions about the organizations from staff on campus,” Whitney said.
John Sims, a professor of law emeritus who teaches First Amendment Law and Constitutional Law at McGeorge School of Law at the University of the Pacific in Sacramento, said, generally, public school officials cannot impose their own ideas or opinions when implementing content control on students. School officials do have the right to keep order in schools to prevent disruption to students’ process, but a ban on some logos should mean a ban on all logos, Sims said.
“This picture is being prepared and distributed by the school, so that seems to make it very difficult for the students to raise any plausible First Amendment argument.”
Sims said schools should say ahead of time what students can and cannot wear.
“Saying nothing, and then unilaterally making the changes afterward is not defensible,” he said. “It seems inevitable that such an approach will puzzle and outrage the students and their families, as has happened in this case. It’s not a good lesson for students in problem-solving.”
Digital alterations of photos have raised concerns before. Nearly 80 female students at a Florida high school had their yearbook photos altered to cover their shoulders and low necklines without their permission. The school said they will refund the cost of the yearbook to parents who complained.
This story was originally published May 27, 2021 at 5:00 AM.