Replies

School district upholds decision against rat
Tuesday, December 18, 2001
TRACY LOEW
McKay High School senior Sarah Ball has lost her battle to include her pet rat in her yearbook photo.
Her family received a letter Saturday from district officials upholding principal Rey Mayoral’s decision to reject the photo, which shows Rotten Rat draped over Ball’s shoulder.
Because published rules did not ban pets, Ball said she still thinks she is right. She plans to sue the district, even though last week’s publication deadline means she probably won’t be in the book at all.
“I want to go to court,” Ball said. “It just didn’t seem like they reviewed it very well.”
Ball gained national attention after she went public with her battle, granting interviews with talk shows and news programs across the country.
Dozens of readers called or wrote the newspaper.
Many offered support, including the Portland-based Rat Allies and the Chico, Calif.-based Rat Fan Club.
“If I had a student who showed her individuality in a harmless way, I’d be praising her to the skies,” said Michelle Buchanan, a former high school teacher who lives in New York City.
Others backed Mayoral.
Kathleen Hanneman, the district’s director of secondary education, said she carefully considered the family’s arguments, studied previous yearbooks, and reviewed school and district policy before making her decision.
“The key element was that in our policy, the school principal is the editor and publisher of all school publications,” Hanneman said. “That particular language basically supports his decision.”
Mayoral did not respond to requests for an interview.
He had offered to run the photo of Ball with the rat elsewhere in the book, and to pay to have her picture for the senior portrait section retaken. Ball rejected both offers.
Hanneman said her decision won’t set a precedent for other cases, she said.
“Each yearbook adviser has guidelines,” she said.
Ball’s mother, Lori McMichael, said she’ll support whatever decision her daughter makes.
,b>Copyright 2001 Statesman Journal, Salem, Oregon