High School Very Sorry for Misidentifying Muslim Student as "Isis" in Yearbook
On Saturday, a high school principal in California apologized for a yearbook “misprint” that identified a Muslim student wearing a hijab as “Isis Phillips,” the name of an unrelated student, NBC News reports.
“[Los Osos High School] is taking every step possible to correct & investigate a regrettable misprint discovered in the yearbook,” wrote Principal Susan Petrocelli on Twitter. “We sincerely apologize.”
LOHS is taking every step possible to correct & investigate a regrettable misprint discovered in the yearbook. We sincerely apologize.
— Susan Petrocelli (@LosOsosHigh) May 8, 2016
According to Bayan Zehlif, the student pictured in the photo, school officials claimed the caption recalling the world’s preeminent jihadist organization was an accident—an explanation she disputes.
“I am extremely saddened, disgusted, hurt and embarrassed,” wrote Zehlif on Facebook Friday. “The school reached out to me and had the audacity to say that this was a typo. I beg to differ, let’s be real.”
In their own apology, the yearbook’s staff suggested the caption was the result of failing to check “each name carefully,” but on Sunday the school district’s superintendent acknowledged the possibility Zehlif was intentionally misidentified.
“The yearbook publisher has already been contacted and is working on a solution to remedy this unfortunate situation,” Superintendent Mat Holton told the Whittier Daily News. “If they find that a student acted irresponsibly and intentionally, administration will take appropriate actions.”