MN High School Yearbook on Trump: “I would like to behead him” [Updated]
The Brainerd High School Warriors are on the warpath against Donald Trump. Several aggressive comments in the newly released Class of 2017 yearbook target Trump, including one saying “I would like to behead him.”
But when word gets out about the inflammatory comments included in the Class of 2017’s yearbook, it may be parents going on the warpath. Brainerd is the county seat of Crow Wing County, which voted overwhelmingly for Trump by 32 percent with a whopping 92 percent voter turnout.
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The 2017 yearbook edition just out features a section on Donald Trump’s election. Under a heading of “Trump 2k17-2k20? How do you feel about him?” several students vent their frustration over the election results.
“I would like to behead him. I do not like him,” states a sophomore.
“I feel like Donald is very racist and sexist and doesn’t care to give people a chance before knowing them,” adds a freshman.
“I don’t like the way he comes off, he seems really rude,” says another freshman.
“At first I thought it was a joke. Although I do not agree with him, I hope he wakes up the world about how messed up we are.”
The yearbook also features an ad hoc poll with a bar graph indicating most students answered no to the question of “Do you like Trump?”
Brainerd schools list art teacher Joe Wagner as the yearbook adviser. The north central Minnesota district has a strict violence prevention policy. “The school district will act promptly to investigate all acts and formal and informal complaints of violence and take appropriate disciplinary action against any student or staff member who is found to have violated this policy or any related policy.”
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Friday afternoon Brainerd Public Schools issued an apology in bold red lettering across the home page of the district’s website.
“The administration of Brainerd Public Schools has been notified that the 2016-2017 high school yearbook contains highly disrespectful statements from students about political figures, including the president of the United States. The administration was previously unaware of the students’ statements in the yearbook. The district does not support or otherwise endorse any disrespectful or politically based statements that are in the yearbook and apologizes for the statements that were included. While the district supports free speech, the disrespectful statements in the yearbook are contrary to the basic educational mission of the district and should not have been included in a school sponsored publication. The administration is currently investigating how this occurred and is reviewing the district’s processes to ensure that this type of unacceptable situation does not occur in the future. The administration deeply regrets that the existing processes for reviewing the yearbook did not result in the removal of the inappropriate statements.”