From the New York Post’s David Andreatta.
A Queens couple claims their daughter’s memories of elementary school have been marred by a “horrible” yearbook photo, and are demanding the school recall all 200 books and replace the picture.
Michelle Maihepat, of South Ozone Park, said her 11-year-old daughter, Asheana, is so embarrassed by the “bad picture” that she has been crying and hiding her face in shame from her sixth-grade classmates at PS 121 since the yearbooks were distributed Monday.
“For the rest of her life, she’s going to have to be ashamed of that horrible picture,” Maihepat said.
“Twenty years down the line, she’s going to look at this book with her friends, and her friends are going to say, ‘What happened to you there?’
The family says anything less than a total recall is not good enough, reasoning that the yearbook is Asheana’s legacy among all her classmates at PS 121.
“Who knows, one day she might be famous or have a lot of money and someone could blackmail her with that picture,” Maihepat said.
Asheana, who stayed home from school yesterday, said, “I never expected to see that picture in the yearbook. My friends feel sorry for me.”
Nice work, NY Post. Publish an article about the traumatic effects of an 11 year old’s unflattering yearbook photo…and put said picture on the front page. That should really make her feel better. I didn’t go to journalism school, but if I’ve often wondered if they have special classes in how to expose ugly children to widespread ridicule. You know, the sort of shit that might haunt them for life or provoke a shooting spree (which would make for another excellent front cover, especially if there’s nothing else going on).
If I let my buzz be harshed by crappy elementary school photos of me burdened w/ baby fat, cookie crumbs, and piss-crusted corduroy pants, I’d be nothing more than a lowly Sandwich Artist. I am a MANAGER of Sandwich Artists. Rise above, Michele!
But now the poor girl has the added trauma of the picture being exposed to the 500,000 CSTB readers as well (granted, there is SOME overlap with Post readers, not much though). I guess running it in the Onion would also add to it, though as my acquaintance Chris points out, the Post pretty much has become the Onion by running that story.
Brian,
I’m just trying to point out a journalistic injustice. I could’ve not shown Michele’s photography, but that would have been a violation of Your Right To Know.
Seriously, I don’t know how these post motherfuckers sleep at night. Me, I _don’t_ sleep at night. I’m so plagued with guilt that I have to stay up all night looking for ghastly pictures to entertain the rest of you with.