GLASTONBURY, Conn. — The student responsible for submitting to the yearbook a quote by Adolf Hitler and attributing it to George Floyd has been identified and the matter has been referred to police, Glastonbury school officials said in a letter Wednesday.
Glastonbury High School earlier this week confirmed that a student used a false name to submit an “inappropriate quote” that was published in the yearbook. The vandalism resulted in the yearbook being recalled.
"Our investigation has identified the student responsible for this act. The student has received consequences in accordance with school policy and the matter has been referred to the police," said Dr. Alan B. Bookman, Superintendent of Schools and Dr. Nancy Bean, Glastonbury High School Principal in a letter to the community.
In a letter to students and parents on Wednesday, the two school officials said they while they do not normally comment on student disciplinary actions, they wanted to inform the school community about what has happened.
They said the “appalling quote” and another yearbook entry were submitted using a false name.
“The quote was from Hilter (sic) and was attributed to George Floyd. The other entry was a reference to the ‘Boston bomber.’ Our first priority was to support the students victimized by this act,” they said, adding they contacted the victim and their family and suspended the yearbook distribution.
The school officials said a further investigation found “one other offensive quote glorifying war.”
“We are working with the yearbook publisher to send us replacement pages that will be inserted into the yearbooks,” they said.
They added: “We deeply regret not having caught the act of bigotry and vandalism before the yearbook was printed. We are examining and will revise our yearbook procedures for collecting and reviewing future student submissions.
Bookman and Bean said the school community is “greatly distressed and disturbed by the antisemitic, racist and biased yearbook incident” and that they recognize that racism and privilege exist.
“There is no place for any of this anywhere in our school system,” they wrote. “As a district, we have committed ourselves to examining our school system and our school culture and to dismantling any practices that support inequality, privilege, and racism. We made that commitment a year ago. These are NOT just words. We have begun this critical work this year and will continue the work for many years to come.”
Senior class members who already received the yearbook have been asked to return them to the office for correction. All other students will receive their yearbooks with the corrected pages, the officials said.
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