D. Armenta
PlagmanSchool Blacks Out Photo in Yearbook of Gay Student Kissing Boyfriend
A school district in Newark, New Jersey, which ordered that a picture of a male student kissing his boyfriend be blacked out of the East Side High School’s yearbook, is now saying they regret doing so and have apologized to the student, saying, “yeah, we’re sorry… sorry you’re so gay!!” But because the superintendent did not deliver the apology in public, face-to-face, while standing on his head and balancing a dinner plate on a thin stick with his left hand, kisser Andre Jackson refuses to accept the apology as sincere. In a related story, Kevin Miller is awaiting an apology from Mrs. Kleinman who walked in on him and his girlfriend in a stall in the ladies’ room. At the very least, Miller wants back the video recording she made.
“I would accept an apology – a public apology,” said Jackson, the youngest student in New Jersey to formally give up trying to get a girl to go out with him.
Along with the statement of regret, the district reported that they would offer an unredacted version of the yearbook to any student who wanted one. Andre Jackson and his boy-toy were the first in line to receive one of the 1,750 copies that was re-printed: only 1,748 remain.
“The decision was based, in part, on misinformation that Mr. Jackson was not one of our students and our review simply focused on the suggestive nature of the photograph,” the district said, right before the district left for the day to go home to the district’s wife and three children. The district continued, “Superintendent Marion A. Bolden, not to be confused with Marion B. Bolden, or Marion Anquan Bolden, personally apologizes to Mr. Jackson and regrets any embarrassment and unwanted attention the matter has brought to him.”
Valerie Merritt, a district spokeswoman, said Bolden would meet with Jackson on Tuesday. But according to Steven Goldstein, chairman of the gay rights group Garden State Equality, which is only loosely based on the movie with Zach Braff and Natalie Portman, said that as of 10pm the night before (Monday), despite leaving 37 voice-mails and texting them every 15 minutes, Jackson had not heard from the district.
“Look, the district is pretty busy, especially around this time of year,” said Merritt, “I’m sure the district will call as soon as the district gets a chance.”
“They don’t have a meeting set up, it’s not true,” Goldstein told the AP. “The school district hasn’t contacted him. Whether they reach out to him on Tuesday remains to be seen. But in my experience, if she doesn’t call when she says she’s going to, she’s never going to call. If I were Andre I would just forget the district ever existed and burn everything of hers she left at my place, that bi***.”
Jackson says that everyone, including students, teachers, and parents all knew he was gay, and that his sexual orientation was never a problem at school once he came out and the school was forced to build him his own locker room and restroom facilities. “Before he came out,” said one of Jackson’s teachers, “he got made fun of by the students mercilessly for his flamboyance. He was such a great dresser, always well kept; all the girls loved him but he never took advantage. The other boys teased him about being gay at every turn.”
“Once I came out,” commented Jackson, “they would be like, ‘dude you are so gay,’ and I would just respond, ‘yeah, I know.’ Then they would be like, ‘… touché, Jackson, touché...’ They never did figure out a comeback to that one, so they just gave up.”
As for the blacked out photo, however, “I’ve never had to deal with this before. It’s shocking. It’s crazy.” Said Jackson.
The school’s guidance counselor reported that Jackson endured a great deal of emotional trauma after seeing the black square in the yearbook. “The boy saw the black square and just broke down. Right away he knew that the black square was meant as a symbol of hatred towards the gay community,” said Lester Burnam. “I don’t think any of us will ever be able to look at a black square again without thinking ‘I hate queers,’ it’s just sad, really.”
The picture showed Jackson turning his head back over his right shoulder, kissing boyfriend David Escobales; Bolden described the picture as “illict.”
“After I saw that photo, I couldn’t get it up for five days,” said Bolden. “If it was either heterosexual or gay, it should have been blacked out. It’s how they posed for the picture,” he told The Star-Ledger of Newark.
The decision to black out the gross picture was made by the district’s assistant superintendent, Russell Garris, who is in charge of overseeing the city’s high school. He told Bolden that the picture could upset parents, even though historically, parents of teenagers never get offended and never call the school board to complain about anything, unless their child goes to a school that publishes photos of gays making out.
(This story is an actual news story, although it was months ago and I'm just posting it now so I don't have the reference, get over it).
“I would accept an apology – a public apology,” said Jackson, the youngest student in New Jersey to formally give up trying to get a girl to go out with him.
Along with the statement of regret, the district reported that they would offer an unredacted version of the yearbook to any student who wanted one. Andre Jackson and his boy-toy were the first in line to receive one of the 1,750 copies that was re-printed: only 1,748 remain.
“The decision was based, in part, on misinformation that Mr. Jackson was not one of our students and our review simply focused on the suggestive nature of the photograph,” the district said, right before the district left for the day to go home to the district’s wife and three children. The district continued, “Superintendent Marion A. Bolden, not to be confused with Marion B. Bolden, or Marion Anquan Bolden, personally apologizes to Mr. Jackson and regrets any embarrassment and unwanted attention the matter has brought to him.”
Valerie Merritt, a district spokeswoman, said Bolden would meet with Jackson on Tuesday. But according to Steven Goldstein, chairman of the gay rights group Garden State Equality, which is only loosely based on the movie with Zach Braff and Natalie Portman, said that as of 10pm the night before (Monday), despite leaving 37 voice-mails and texting them every 15 minutes, Jackson had not heard from the district.
“Look, the district is pretty busy, especially around this time of year,” said Merritt, “I’m sure the district will call as soon as the district gets a chance.”
“They don’t have a meeting set up, it’s not true,” Goldstein told the AP. “The school district hasn’t contacted him. Whether they reach out to him on Tuesday remains to be seen. But in my experience, if she doesn’t call when she says she’s going to, she’s never going to call. If I were Andre I would just forget the district ever existed and burn everything of hers she left at my place, that bi***.”
Jackson says that everyone, including students, teachers, and parents all knew he was gay, and that his sexual orientation was never a problem at school once he came out and the school was forced to build him his own locker room and restroom facilities. “Before he came out,” said one of Jackson’s teachers, “he got made fun of by the students mercilessly for his flamboyance. He was such a great dresser, always well kept; all the girls loved him but he never took advantage. The other boys teased him about being gay at every turn.”
“Once I came out,” commented Jackson, “they would be like, ‘dude you are so gay,’ and I would just respond, ‘yeah, I know.’ Then they would be like, ‘… touché, Jackson, touché...’ They never did figure out a comeback to that one, so they just gave up.”
As for the blacked out photo, however, “I’ve never had to deal with this before. It’s shocking. It’s crazy.” Said Jackson.
The school’s guidance counselor reported that Jackson endured a great deal of emotional trauma after seeing the black square in the yearbook. “The boy saw the black square and just broke down. Right away he knew that the black square was meant as a symbol of hatred towards the gay community,” said Lester Burnam. “I don’t think any of us will ever be able to look at a black square again without thinking ‘I hate queers,’ it’s just sad, really.”
The picture showed Jackson turning his head back over his right shoulder, kissing boyfriend David Escobales; Bolden described the picture as “illict.”
“After I saw that photo, I couldn’t get it up for five days,” said Bolden. “If it was either heterosexual or gay, it should have been blacked out. It’s how they posed for the picture,” he told The Star-Ledger of Newark.
The decision to black out the gross picture was made by the district’s assistant superintendent, Russell Garris, who is in charge of overseeing the city’s high school. He told Bolden that the picture could upset parents, even though historically, parents of teenagers never get offended and never call the school board to complain about anything, unless their child goes to a school that publishes photos of gays making out.
(This story is an actual news story, although it was months ago and I'm just posting it now so I don't have the reference, get over it).
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I would have thought that any kissing was not printed, heterosexual or homosexual?
That should have put paid to it, in my view.
Dude is such an interesting word when the dictionary is consulted, isn't it?
Great post, thanks for the *chuckle*
Lilla ...