Opinion: Poll: Should Ohio student be punished for obscene yearbook cover?

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As graduation season cranks into high gear for local schools, so does another, much less revered activity: senior pranks. One bit of mischief-making in northern Ohio has student bloggers buzzing: The Shaker Heights High School senior chosen to create the yearbook cover integrated the F-bomb into his design. Granted, you have to turn the book upside down and peer into the squirming artistry to get the ‘[expletive] All Yall’ message. Perhaps he was just testing his classmates on their Dan Brown code-breaking skills?

The student has since apologized for the transgression. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Michael McIntyre, the student body not only shrugged off the insult, it gave him ‘the loudest, most sustained applause of any fellow student as he accepted his diploma.’ It’s good to see that high school students are still forgiving, even in this economy. A local television report shows students chuckling over the incident and even some saying they wanted to keep the original as humorous memento. The school’s administrative staff didn’t find the hidden message quite so funny, however. It halted sales of the book and began blacking out the offensive word.

Is this the sort of incident that might spur future, and perhaps more flagrant pranks? Is it just me, or does this remind you of the obscene watermark episode of ‘The Office’? Should the student have been punished more severely for his actions? Or, like his fellow classmates, do you think this is all just a laughing matter?

--Kevin Patra