BUCKLAND — The removal of a single page from the 2016 Massamet Yearbook by school administrators has sparked an outcry by some Mohawk Trail Regional School students and has brought threats of a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union.
A page with photos from Booster Week was physically cut from the published yearbooks, according to Mohawk Superintendent Michael Buoniconti, who sent an email to school families to explain why it was done.
On Friday afternoon, Buoniconti sent a second note, saying the yearbooks “won’t be distributed for the time being,” after the school district received a call from the American Civil Liberties Union threatening litigation based on a complaint about the page removal.
Without saying exactly what was on the page, Buoniconti said, Thursday in an email, “While it is most unfortunate that the issue could not be addressed prior to publication, it was evident to administration that the page in question would be harmful to the well-being of several students. These students extend beyond current seniors to younger high school grades. All, I must emphasize, all of our students are entitled to a safe educational environment, which is a fundamental civil right.”
“It is in defense of the rights of these students, some of whom are frankly too uncomfortable to voice their position in the current climate, that I based my decision. These students have already been victimized by a trusted adult, and the Mohawk District will not be insensitive to their ongoing emotional needs.”
One student posted on Facebook that she understands why some students would not want the page in the yearbook. But she felt others wanted their yearbooks intact. “Booster week was so much fun, and as a senior it is the last I will ever have,” she wrote. “It isn’t fair that my happy memories are going to be cut out just because someone is in the background. I know that cutting out the pages won’t change or erase what has happened from my memory, so I doubt that it will work for anyone else.”
Buoniconti praised students who argued against the yearbook cutting, on the basis of freedom of speech and their property rights, since they’ve already paid for their yearbooks. He said “this decision was not made lightly and was ultimately my responsibility.” He also offered to refund the money for anyone “who chooses not to accept their yearbook.”
Sarah R. Wunsch, deputy legal director for the ACLU Foundation, said the Massachusetts Student Freedom of Expression Act is more protective of their rights than is the Constitution.
The state law says “freedom of expression in the public schools … shall not be abridged, provided that such right shall not cause any disruption or disorder within the school.” It also says: “No expression made by students in the exercise of such rights shall be deemed to be an expression of school policy, and no school officials shall be held responsible in any civil or criminal action for any expression made or published by the students.”
After Mohawk’s situation was described to her, Wunsch said: “I’m not hearing anything (in the yearbook) that would be disruptive to the school. I hear fear of discomfort. I’m raising concerns that they shouldn’t have cut the page out of the yearbook without evidence of disruption or disorder.
“There’s talk of ‘triggers’ right now, but we all have to learn, in a free society, how to deal with things that may be upsetting to us,” said Wunsch. “It’s important to teach students about freedom of expression and the difficulties that go along with it sometimes.”