East Brunswick HS yearbook error causing ‘deep fractures’ in school, community
After an initial internal investigation, the school is calling for an outside investigation to draw the final conclusion.
The East Brunswick High School auditorium was overcome by anger and frustration as parents and students demanded answers about the school’s yearbook controversy.
A picture that was supposed to show a group of Jewish students was replaced with a photo of a group of Muslim students.
After an initial internal investigation, the school is calling for an outside investigation to draw the final conclusion.
Students from both faiths say they’ve been targeted - and neither feel the school is doing enough to make it right.
“These students here, they don’t feel protected by the school whatsoever,” said school senior Hasan.
“It’s been breaking up the students, and that’s scary,” said junior Abby. “It’s just a hostile environment right now.”
“I’ve personally seen death threats on social media, calling me a terrorist,” said junior Zain.
“We’re getting looks, we’re getting names called, and we’re just scared to come to school every day,” said senior Sydney.
Members of the Muslim Students Association said they have nothing to do with the school yearbook. Members of the Jewish Student Union believe they should have been contacted before publication. How this happened is still unclear.
“We determined - at a minimum - that there was a gross lack of oversight in the creation of that page for the yearbook,” said Superintendent Victor Valeski.
“We just don't have enough information to be judging anybody, and certainly I'm outraged to hear that there are threats,” said Lisa Karasic, of the Jewish Federation in the Heart of New Jersey.
“I'm very, very much worried about their mental health right now,” said parent Humera Shahid.
Some don’t believe it should take long to discover the answers.
“It should be fairly evident in this day and age of communications where things were present, when things were omitted or were flopped out,” Karasic said. “In fact, a lot of files today will tell you who worked on them. So, we're looking forward to that level of detail in the investigation.”
Some students in both groups feel betrayed by their school, and their hometown.
“This is a school, this is a learning institution, and it shouldn’t be where we create divide,” said junior Abby.
“I really feel that East Brunswick may not be as inclusive a community as it used to be,” said junior Zain.
Members of the Jewish Student Union say they re-took their photo on Thursday.
State and national groups representing Jewish and Islamic faiths have joined in the calls for a fair investigation.
