Wall Yearbook Adviser Suspended Over Trump T-shirt Censorship

WALL, NJ — The Wall Township High School yearbook adviser has been suspended in connection with the censoring of a student's T-shirt supporting President Donald J. Trump in the high school yearbook, the superintendent said Monday.

Wall Superintendent Cheryl Dyer confirmed the suspension, first reported by News12's Jim Murdoch. In an email, Dyer said, "I have no further statement other than our investigation continues and that she was suspended pending the results of the investigation." The suspension is with pay, per state administrative rules, Dyer said.

Dyer did not name the teacher. The New York Post on Saturday reported the yearbook adviser is Susan Parsons, who works in the technology/media department. Parsons has taught computer science at the school, according to the website RateMyTeachers.com.

The issue came to light last week when Wall High School junior Grant Berardo discovered the Trump logo that appeared on the T-shirt he wore for school picture day had been removed in the published yearbook photo. In addition, junior Wyatt Dobrovich-Fago reported a Trump logo on the pocket of his shirt was gone, and his sister, Montana, the freshman class president, said a Trump quote that was supposed to appear with her photo was missing.

"It was not done under the direction of the administration," Dyer said by phone late Friday afternoon. "We are very disturbed by it."

Dyer said the district's dress code only bars students from wearing shirts that reference drugs, alcohol, weapons or violence. Political slogans are not banned, she said.

"There's nothing in the school policy that prohibits supporting a political candidate," Dyer said Friday. "We put in a whole section from the publisher about the year in the news, and because of the election there's a lot of references to Trump."

Berardo's shirt was clearly Photoshopped to remove the logo, Dyer said. And she was investigating the details of Wyatt Dobrovich-Fago's shirt and the omission of Montana Dobrovich-Fago's quote. Montana Dobrovich-Fago told NJ.com that other class officers had quotes that were published, citing a Franklin D. Roosevelt quote shared by the senior class president.

Joseph Berardo Jr., Grant's father, has told several media outlets he wants the district to reprint the yearbooks with the correct photo of his son and redistribute them to the school. The Berardos paid $110 for Grant's yearbook, according to the New York Post report.

Wall Township High School has roughly 1,200 students in grades nine through 12, and while not every student purchases a yearbook every year, the cost to reprint the books could approach $100,000, based on the price paid by the students.

A request for comment from officials of Josten's, the company that published the Wall High School yearbook, has not been answered.

Joseph Berardo told the New York Post he also wants the district to issue a letter apologizing for the censorship.

A request on Monday for further comment from Joseph Berardo has not been answered.

Trump T-shirt screenshot from Amazon.com