Holmdel Student: Supporting Trump Excluded Me From Honor Society

HOLMDEL, NJ — A junior at Holmdel High School told NJ 101.5 he was deliberately excluded from the school's National Honor Society because he's a Trump supporter. The Holmdel superintendent countered that politics are never a factor when the faculty decides which students to admit to the prestigious society.

Like any school, admission to National Honor Society at Holmdel High is coveted, and Holmdel High proudly released this list of the 86 students who had been selected earlier this month; they were also honored at a special induction ceremony held Jan. 10 at the high school.

But Boris Kizenko, a 16-year-old junior at Holmdel High said in an interview with NJ 101.5 that he has been deliberately excluded because he is a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump. Kizenko is a former class president, has an above-4.0 grade average and has fulfilled the required community service time, he told the radio station's host, Bill Spadea.

"Handing out what they call 'propaganda' (T-shirts and hats that said 'Make Holmdel Great Again') and posting a Trump quote, they all called that a character issue and denied me the National Honor Society," said Kizenko, of Holmdel teachers and administrators.

Robert McGarry, the superintendent of Holmdel public schools, said a student's political affiliation is never a factor into whether or not they are accepted. Students apply via this website, and faculty at Holmdel High make the determination.

Criteria includes having at least a 3.66 GPA, a determination of character, being a student in good standing, demonstrated leadership and having completed 200 hours of community service since entering high school.

"Political affiliation is not a consideration for National Honor Society acceptance and no student would be denied admittance to NHS based on his/her political speech or political party affiliation," McGarry told Patch. Also, "Any student denied acceptance to the National Honor Society has a right to appeal the Faculty Council's decision to the principal and ultimately to me."

Listen to the entire Boris Kizenko/Bill Spadea radio interview:

Kizenko told Spadea he has a history of run-ins with faculty at Holmdel High.

He was reprimanded as class president after he posted a Trump quote on the class's Instagram account, which read "If you're going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big."

Kizenko told the radio host that Trump was just one of several public figures whose quotes he shared daily on the page.

"I would post motivational quotes every day, from Marcus Aurelius to Yoda to Drake. Trump is our president, so I felt there should be no problem quoting him as well," Kizenko told 101.5. "They took the post down and took away all my social media authority as president. (They) demanded my password ... They told me that I was being a 'monarch' in the Student Council and said that (quote) doesn't represent the ideals of the class."

He said he appealed the administration's decision, which resulted in a "conduct report" being filed on him.

Then when he ran for reelection last year, Kizenko made T-shirts and hats that said "Make Holmdel Great Again." He said the students didn't care, but high school administration reprimanded him for it, calling the shirts "propaganda." (He did not win the reelection bid.)

Kizenko told Spadea he appealed his rejection from the National Honor Society, but lost his appeal. He said he was told by the Holmdel High principal and other administrators that he was denied because of "a character issue."

The superintendent also told Patch he was prohibited under state privacy laws from speaking specifically about why Kizenko was not chosen.

Read the original report here: http://nj1015.com/standing-up-...

Here is a second interview Kizenko did with Spadea on "Chasing News," with Republican and Democratic political analysts weighing in:

Photo of the Holmdel High football fields by Carly Baldwin/Patch