‘Most Likely To Bomb US’: Yearbook With Student Quote Reprinted

PEORIA, AZ — A charter school in a Phoenix suburb is reprinting its 2018 yearbook after it said a student with an Arabic sounding name was “most likely to bomb the U.S.” Deb Hofmeir, the principal at Sonoran Science Academy in Peoria, said the quote was “somehow missed during the editing and proofreading process” and that a new version of the yearbook will be printed.

The school is investigating how the quote made it into print “so this does not happen again.” Hofmeir said in a statement. Some of the yearbooks had already been distributed and students who received them are asked to return them so a new copy can be provided at no additional cost.

Hofmeir said the class didn’t vote on awards and that students “self-selected a superlative for himself or herself.”

"After speaking with the student and the student’s parents, it is apparent the comment was a misguided attempt at humor," Hofmeier told The Arizona Republic. "There was absolutely no malicious intent on the part of the student.”

The faculty member overseeing the yearbook has been disciplined, the principal said.

Imraan Siddiqi, who runs the Council on American-Islamic Relations Arizona, told the newspaper that it was “absolutely unacceptable for a comment like this to slip through what has to be multiple layers of student, faculty and staff in the editing process.”

"Bullying takes all shapes and forms and can have a lasting impact on the lives of children," he said. "Therefore, this is a situation that must not be taken lightly and addressed on a systemic level."

The incident at the Sonoran Science Academy in Peoria is the second in days at nearby high school where ethnically or racially inappropriate quotes were included in high school yearbooks.

Administrators at Casa Grande High School said the offensive quote had been erased from 450 yet-to-be distributed yearbooks. The quote in question said “the South will rise again,” which some people thought honored slavery.

Vista Grande High School Principal Glenda Sulley told the Casa Grande Dispatch that staff members review specific guidelines regarding appropriate language and word choice before they compose their senior quotes, but that balancing a student’s First Amendment rights of expression with others’ rights is tricky.

“The goal of the First Amendment rights is to balance a person’s right to speak and publish while simultaneously protecting the rights of others,” Sulley said. “That is a very fine line, and we try to do our best.”

Sully said that “although many eyes scan the quotes for appropriateness,” some things can be missed.

Here is the full statement from Hofmeir regarding Sonoran Science Academy yearbook quote.

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