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Quaker Valley School District leaders apologizing for 'offensive' yearbook quotes

SEWICKLEY, Pa. — Quaker Valley School District leaders are apologizing and offering refunds to families after “offensive” quotes were published in the high school yearbook.

Quotations attributed to Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi were all published in the graduating class section of the yearbook.

District leaders sent the following email to parents addressing the quotes:

"This is a regrettable mistake, as the school district would never knowingly condone this messaging in a school-sponsored publication. We are well aware of the emotions this has conjured in many of our students and their families, and for that we are sorry.
 
"Though the content of the quotes was reviewed thoroughly, the attributions clearly were not."  

The statement was signed by Superintendent Heidi Ondek, High School Principal Deborah Riccobelli and yearbook sponsor Tamra Rosa.

It was not immediately clear whether students or the yearbook sponsor would face punishment.%

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The quotations included, "Words build bridges into unexplored regions," attributed to Hitler, the leader of Nazi Germany during World War II; "Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, so why would we let them have ideas?" attributed to Stalin, the dictator of the Soviet Union; and "Be just: the unjust never prosper. Be valiant. Keep your word, even to your enemies," attributed to al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State terrorist group.

Student Joe Sutton submitted the Stalin and al-Baghdadi quotes, which were included in the yearbook next to his senior picture.

“I get why people would get upset about it, but there's way worse things in the world,” he said.

Sutton said his friends are not happy about the quotes being included. However, he said his friends don’t blame him for their inclusion but rather the yearbook editors.

“They even specifically said that you couldn't send stuff like that, and they would stop it. Apparently, they allowed them, so now it's representing the school, which is not good,” Sutton said.

In addition to refunds, the district said it plans to offer redaction stickers to students who wish to cover up the quotations.