Fundraising Shirts Cause Outrage At NH High School
CONCORD, NH (CBS) - Students at Concord High School are being asked to return some t-shirts before they offend anyone.
The shirts were supposed to be a fundraiser for the senior class, but along with the school spirit mottoes, there are drug references, possible anti-gay slurs and more.
"It's pretty unfortunate," one student said. "We don't want our class to be known for this sort of thing that's for sure."
He's talking about the shirt that featured a breaking wave design, playing off the school's Crimson Tide nickname.
The trouble is, some students complained when they spotted the phrase "go white" and three seemingly random K's, a possible Klan reference scattered in with a bunch of stuff more pertinent the school experience.
"I think it's distasteful, I think it's embarrassing," another student said.
Some critics also point to possible anti-gay slurs and drug references.
"The majority of us are really good people, it just takes that one guy to mess it all up," a student said.
That one guy would be the teen who came up with the contest winning shirt pattern in his graphic design class. Some classmates say he got approval from school officials, but sent another version to the printer.
The senior who designed the shirt has been banned from the senior trip, the senior prom and graduation. But he will still get his diploma.
"The kid that did it does not represent our class whatsoever, it was not a miscommunication, my guess is he did it on purpose," another student said.
School officials agreed, even if the offending message is not overt and obvious to the casual observer and ordered seniors to return the originals and grab a replacement.
But one black student urged caution in making blanket judgments. "People are going to be people, and there's good people and there's bad people," he said.
You can be fairly certain that next year's senior t-shirts will be the most scrutinized in school history.