Unchecked Anti-Semitic Prank In Yearbook Causes Stir At High School In Cupertino

CUPERTINO (KCBS) — School officials in Cupertino are scrambling to deal with an anti-Semitic name change that was printed in a high school yearbook. The family of the student slighted by the prank, meanwhile, wants the yearbooks recalled.

At the end of team photo in the Monta Vista High School yearbook, a student intentionally changed the last three letters of classmate's name to "Jew." The insult of the Israeli student apparently slipped past the yearbook adviser and was published in all 1,600 copies that have already been distributed to students.

The family of the student said that the incident has caused much anguish. They said that their family members fled Eastern Europe after barely surviving the holocaust and they are calling on the Fremont Union High School District recall all copies of the yearbook.

"The administrative leadership teams at Monta Vista High School and the Fremont Union High School District are outraged by this incident," spokeswoman Sue Larson told the San Jose Mercury News.

"We do not and will not tolerate racial slurs of any kind."

But district officials also added that recalling the yearbooks "may be next to impossible because it is unlikely that students will be willing to return them."

The yearbooks cost the district $64,000 to produce and sell for $90 apiece.

Meanwhile the Santa Clara District Attorney's Office told the Mercury News that it is unlikely to charge the student with a hate crime because there were no threats to his classmate.

School officials said the offending student will face "consequences" but they declined to say because of privacy laws whether that includes counseling.

Larson said the district will work with the students and community to make everyone aware of the seriousness of such an act and create a more "rigorous" system for reviewing yearbook.