NJ teacher suspended over Trump yearbook censorship – USA TODAY
USA Today Network Mike Davis, Asbury Park (N.J.) Press Published 9:31 p.m. ET June 12, 2017 | Updated 23 hours ago
Grant Berardo, a Wall High School junior, saw his image digitally altered with a plain black T-shirt in his yearbook. Mike Davis
Wall Township High School junior Grant Berardo's T-shirt was digitally altered in the school's yearbook. He wore a Donald Trump campaign shirt for his portrait.(Photo: Courtesy of Joseph Berardo, Jr.)
WALL, N.J. The Wall High School teacher and adviser of the yearbook club has been suspended due to alleged censorship of images and quotes by students supporting President Trump.
Superintendent Cheryl Dyer said Monday that the teacher, who she declined to name, was suspended "pending further disciplinary action" from the school board.
On the high school's website, the yearbook club's adviser is listed as Susan Parsons. According to public records, she collected an$87,950 salary last year.
"I don't have definitive answers to all of my questions yet, but I knew enough at this point to get board approval to take that action," Dyer said.
Related:
Teen's Trump T-shirt censored in yearbook photo
Fact check: No, Neil Gorsuch didnt start a fascism club in high school
Dyer declined to identify what disciplinary action could be taken. Termination would require the board to file tenure charges against her.
According to her LinkedIn page, Parsons has worked in the district for 15 years.
On her yearbook class's website within the district homepage, Parsonsincludes "photo editing" as one of the "real world skills" that students learn during yearbook production.
She did not return a call to her home seeking comment.In an interview with the New York Post, she said we have never made any action against any political party.
But when asked if she knew who altered the photos, Parsons simply said, Im going to hang up.
Wall Township High School junior Grant Berardo's T-shirt was digitally altered in the school's yearbook. He wore a Donald Trump campaign shirt for his portrait.(Photo: Courtesy of Joseph Berardo, Jr.)
There have been three reported instances of censorship in the yearbook, all revolving around students supporting Trump.
Grant Berardo, a junior at the school, took his school pictures wearing a navy blue "Make America Great Again" shirt from the campaign. But in the yearbook, his photo had been digitally altered so it resembled a nondescript black T-shirt, which you can see in the video at top of the story.
It was Photoshopped," Grant said in an interview on Friday. "I sent it to my mom and dad, just like You wont believe this. I was just overall disappointed.
"I like Trump, but its history too. Wearing that shirt memorializes the time," he said.
According to CNN, a brother and sister at the school also alleged censorship. Wyatt Debrovich-Fago wore a sweater vest in his picture with a Trump campaign logo, but it was seemingly cropped out of the photo.
His sister, Montana, served as president of the school's freshman class. That role usually comes with a quote next to a picture, and Montana selected: "I like thinking big. If you are going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big."
"I want to know who thought it was OK to do this," Janet Dobrovich-Fago, the teens' mother, told CNN. "I want the school to seek disciplinary action and to be held accountable."
In a statement released Sunday night, Wall school board President Allison Connolly said the board "found the allegations of wrongdoing disturbing and take the charge that students have had their free speech rights infringed upon very seriously."
Wall High School(Photo: File photo)
In a previous interview, Dyer saidthe only reason a student's image would be altered isif itwasin violation of the dress code clothing referencingdrugs, alcohol or violence. Political messages are "absolutely not" a violation, she said.
A spokesman for Jostens, the companythat takes the photographs and prints the yearbooks, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
It's not immediately clear whether the change was made by someone from the school district or photography company.
In an interview, Joseph BerardoJr. Grant's father called for the school to recall the yearbooks and reissue new ones with the unaltered photo. He said he would consider legal action if that doesnt happen.
From my perspective, I dont understand the censorship, Berardo said.I think it was probably politically motivated. It was inherently offensive to somebody and they made a decision to Photoshop it and without discussion, which is the worst part."
The problem would be "equally" as egregious if images of clothing supporting Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton also had been altered, Berardo said.
What are you doing? Dont you go to school to debate this stuff at the collegiate level, at the high school level, asked Berardo. Whats frustrating to me is that this was the first election he took interest in, but what message did the school send?
Follow Mike Davis on Twitter:@byMikeDavis
Autoplay
Show Thumbnails
Show Captions
Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2smQwW6
See original here:
NJ teacher suspended over Trump yearbook censorship - USA TODAY
- Inside the Israeli Media's 'Shocking Self-censorship' of the Horrors of Gaza - Haaretz - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
 - Exclusive | Facebook still censoring The Posts reporting on Black Lives Matter despite pledge to end restrictions - New York Post - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
 - New Report Shows Right-Wing School Boards Responsible for Book Banning, Censorship and Anti-LGBTQ Policies Across Pennsylvania - Bucks County Beacon - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
 - Indiana University Lifts Ban on Printing News in College Newspaper - The New York Times - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
 - Alfian Saat On Censorship, Courage, And The Power Of Singapore Theatre - a+ Singapore - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
 - Tech Executives & Others Testify on Internet Censorship - C-SPAN - October 30th, 2025 [October 30th, 2025]
 - Russia's Digital Censorship Intensifies with Selective Internet Blocking in 2025 - - October 30th, 2025 [October 30th, 2025]
 - Rogue Goodreads Librarian Edits Site to Expose 'Censorship in Favor of Trump Fascism - 404 Media - October 30th, 2025 [October 30th, 2025]
 - CNN Boss Ordered Teardown Censorship After V.I.P. West Wing Visit - The Daily Beast - October 30th, 2025 [October 30th, 2025]
 - Everybody Loves Wanda Sykes: The Comedy Legend on Ending The Upshaws, Why Her Character Is Straight and Why She Wont Censor Herself in Trumps America... - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
 - CNN Boss Ordered Teardown Censorship After V.I.P. West Wing Visit - Yahoo - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
 - Online Regulators Have Launched an Operation to Censor Pessimists. Here's Where It's Happening - People.com - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
 - Freedom in the Arts launches survey into censorship in the arts - Arts Professional - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
 - Gerry Adams: Censorship anniversary is a lesson for today - Irish Echo Newspaper - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
 - Theres only room for one god in China - Index on Censorship - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
 - The Chainsaw Man Movie is Completely Faithful to the Manga Including the 'Censorship' - Comic Book Resources - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
 - Crypto Treasury Stocks Face a Reckoning. Why Boom Could Turn to Bust. - Barron's - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
 - The Lone House Democrat Who Thinks His Party Has the Shutdown All Wrong - The Wall Street Journal - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
 - Voters are about to speak. What they say might not end the shutdown. - Politico - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
 - US government shutdown threatens the spending power of Congress - Reuters - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
 - Hungry kids are about to become the new face of the shutdown - MSNBC News - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
 - Dems Can Win a Senate Seat in Texas. Yes, Really - Rolling Stone - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
 - The shutdowns looming health care cliff - Politico - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
 - 'A Nice Indian Boy' | Whats in a name? Ask the censor board - The Hindu - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
 - Why Did Indiana University Axe Its Award-Winning Print Newspaper? - The Nation - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
 - In America, no government has the right to censor - ironmountaindailynews.com - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
 - Buried on the Ballot, Prop 15 Sparks Fears Over Censorship and Trans Youth Care - Dallas Observer - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
 - U of M sits tight on institutional speech code amid growing concerns of faculty censorship - MinnPost - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
 - Court Awards $885,000 in Attorney Fees After Counseling Censorship Victory - Focus on the Family - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
 - Organizers Cancel a University Conference on Censorship After Being Warned It Could Run Afoul of Utah Law Unless It Was Censored. Yes, You Read that... - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
 - The Librarians Centers the Educators Fighting Book Bans - The Progressive - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
 - EDITORIAL: In wake of Indiana University, student press must stand as one against censorship - The Daily Eastern News - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
 - College faculty are under pressure to say and do the right thing the stress also trickles down to students - The Conversation - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
 - Russian censorship body confirms it has partially blocked WhatsApp and Telegram - - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
 - Editorial: The Spectator Condemns the Suppression of Free Speech at IU - seattlespectator.com - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
 - Opinion | My Bosses Were Afraid of Crossing Trump. So, I Quit. - Politico - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
 - Trump Campaigned on Free Speech. That Isn't How He's Governed. - Reason Magazine - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
 - Watertown Group Hosting Presentation on Promoting Inclusion, Resisting Censorship - Watertown News - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
 - No, There Never Was a Biden Censorship-Industrial Complex - theunpopulist.net - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
 - Indiana University subsidizes IDS, so it has the right to cut print editions | Letters - IndyStar - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
 - EDITORIAL: Statement in support of the Indiana Daily Student - The Butler Collegian - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
 - Censorship is the Real Danger, Not the Books - Talon Marks - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
 - Censoring the Indiana Daily Student contradicts IU's core principles | Letters - IndyStar - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
 - The censors have names. Use them. - goSkagit - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
 - CT ACLU Legal Director: The closest analog to us is the McCarthy era - dailycampus.com - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
 - Contents Truth, trust & tricksters: Free expression in the age of AI - Index on Censorship - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
 - Geopolitics and Corruption - A History of the Objections to NGO Participation in the UN Convention Against Corruption, 2017-2023 - The National Law... - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
 - Why the Open Technology Fund Is Worth Saving - The Dispatch - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
 - LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Reactions to IU's censorship of the IDS - Indiana Daily Student - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
 - Whats the biggest threat to free speech censorship or contempt? - Deseret News - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
 - Jodi Picoult decries 'devastating' H.S. cancelation of her musical 'Between the Lines' - Asbury Park Press - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
 - Self-censorship and the spiral of silence: Why Americans are less likely to publicly voice their opinions on political issues - Yahoo - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
 - My first encounter with censorship - Grand Haven Tribune - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
 - Opinion: Cancel culture should not pave way for censorship - Daily Titan - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
 - Act now: Condemn Indiana Universitys censorship of student media - FIRE | Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
 - Indiana University fires student newspaper adviser who refused to block news stories - AP News - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
 - Indiana University orders student paper to stop printing. Editors say its censorship - Freedom Forum - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
 - Indiana University orders school paper to cease print edition and fires director of student media - The Guardian - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
 - Rutherford Co. library censorship opponents worry Trump EO will lead to more banned books - The Daily News Journal - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
 - Massive leak exposes how Chinas Great Firewall is being exported to other countries - PBS - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
 - Even AI is self-censoring. Heres why that matters. - Big Think - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
 - Southern Kentucky military school must restore censored books, judge rules - WDRB - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
 - Battling book bans in Beantown and beyond - The Tufts Daily - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
 - Afghan Women Journalists Under Taliban Rule: Freshta Hemmati on Censorship, Threats, and Press Freedom - The Good Men Project - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
 - IU fired the Indiana Daily Student adviser for doing his job | Opinion - IndyStar - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
 - Tech industry association sues to block Texas censorship law age-gating access to apps - The Record from Recorded Future News - October 19th, 2025 [October 19th, 2025]
 - Florida wipes culture, diversity and other terms from UNF teacher-education courses - The Tributary - October 19th, 2025 [October 19th, 2025]
 - Trumps anti-truth crusade is not just an attack on facts its an unravelling of the Enlightenment | Polly Toynbee - The Guardian - October 19th, 2025 [October 19th, 2025]
 - Its not all that funny - Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette - October 19th, 2025 [October 19th, 2025]
 - In the Age of Conservative Censorship, South Park Stands Defiant - Highbrow Magazine - October 19th, 2025 [October 19th, 2025]
 - Indiana University ordered its student paper to stop printing. Editors say it's censorship - Yahoo - October 19th, 2025 [October 19th, 2025]
 - Santosh Censorship Hurdles In India Continue As Planned Streaming Release Paused, Director Sandhya Suri Reacts: My Wish Is For The Film To Be... - October 19th, 2025 [October 19th, 2025]
 - The administration at Indiana University Bloomington fired the adviser to the student newspaper and barred the publication from putting out a print... - October 19th, 2025 [October 19th, 2025]
 - This is censorship: Former Millsaps professor files lawsuit following unprecedented termination - Mississippi Today - October 17th, 2025 [October 17th, 2025]
 - Wheres the GOP outrage over the Trump administrations Big Tech censorship? - MSNBC News - October 17th, 2025 [October 17th, 2025]
 - U.S. Museums Band Together to Fight Funding Cuts and Censorship Threats - The New York Times - October 17th, 2025 [October 17th, 2025]
 - Act now: Condemn IUs censorship of student media - FIRE | Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression - October 17th, 2025 [October 17th, 2025]
 - LETTER FROM THE EDITORS: IU has now fully cut IDS print. What more is there to say? - Indiana Daily Student - October 17th, 2025 [October 17th, 2025]
 - City College students see firsthand the power of censorship at Banned Books Week event - City Times - October 17th, 2025 [October 17th, 2025]
 - Sen. Ted Cruz plans to introduce bill codifying protections against government censorship: WSJ - CBS News - October 17th, 2025 [October 17th, 2025]