Bartram High School Yearbook Censorship
Recently, high schools in St. John’s County have begun distributing yearbooks, which is normally met with nostalgia, signatures, and bittersweet memories. But, at Bartram Trail High School, the yearbook was met with outrage. This is due to the fact that 80 of the female student’s photos were digitally edited to cover more of their skin.
Students and parents were outraged when they saw these changes made, seeing as they were poorly edited and they were done without consent. The changes that were made include photoshopping fabric onto the girls’ chest and shoulders.
NPR wrote, “According to the school’s website, all photos in the yearbook must be consistent with the dress code or they ‘may be digitally adjusted.’ But critics have been quick to point out that the yearbook has unedited photos of the men’s swim team in Speedos, for example, which would also violate the dress code.”
These yearbook photos have sparked anger in many readers and Bartram High School is making national headlines once again, after previously coming under fire for the amount of female students being removed from class due to dress code violations. A mother of one of the young women whose picture was edited said, “I think it sends the message that our girls should be ashamed of their growing bodies, and I think that’s a horrible message to send out to these young girls that are going through these changes.”
Bartram is not the only high school to have an issue with their dress code policies, seeing as the number of dress code violations has tripled in the St. John’s County School District this year.
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