California IN BRIEF : LAKE ELSINORE : High School Paper Is Sued for Libel

A college student sued his high school alma mater, claiming he was libeled by a student newspaper parody that implied he was involved in a homosexual relationship. Christopher Zerchot, 20, filed the lawsuit in Riverside County Superior Court, alleging “loss of his reputation, shame, mortification and hurt feelings” over the story. The story appeared last year in the April Fools’ Day edition of “The Tiger Times,” the student-run newspaper at Elsinore High School. It labeled Zerchot and another male student as the “Couple of the Month,” and implied that the two were lovers. Zerchot, who now attends Riverside Community College, is not a homosexual, said his attorney, J. Scott Bennett. Eric Snider, one of the editors of the newspaper this year and a copy editor last year, said the April Fools’ Day edition is traditionally a parody and as such its articles are not taken seriously by students.