By admin 
Here’s the world we live in: The president of the United States can say “f-ck“ in an on-camera interview, but when a high school yearbook includes photos with the F-word on handwritten protest signs, all hell breaks loose.
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That’s the situation in Paso Robles, where a student yearbook has ignited a debate over free speech vs. decorum.
The yearbook included a photo spread on local anti-ICE protests organized by student leaders. A couple of the photos showed protest signs with the F-word.
As Tribune education writer Sadie Dittenber reported, that generated complaints to the Paso Robles Unified School District, along with more than 1,200 comments on Facebook.
Many — maybe even most — comments were positive.
“This is awesome to see! Thanks for sharing. So proud of this generation for using their right to free speech!” was one.
Others were not only negative, but also downright vindictive.
One Facebook user wrote that they hope future employers see the yearbook and deny jobs to the students photographed holding the signs. Another suggested not giving students their diplomas. There were a couple calls for staff firings and one request for an ICE facility in the area.
How the Paso Robles district responded
The school district, meanwhile, put out a statement:
“While no final decisions have been made, possible remedies under consideration include corrective measures related to the affected page and improvements to publication review procedures moving forward,” it said in part.
Corrective measures?
Does the mean offering refunds? Providing stickers to strategically place over the offending words? Or perhaps making a paper cutter available to remove the page entirely?
As for improving “publication review procedures,” that will not be so simple.
As Dittenber explained, California law gives students editorial control over student news publications and yearbooks.
But the law also says that journalism advisers are to “supervise the production of the pupil staff, to maintain professional standards of English and journalism.”
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That may not be the solution the district is hoping for.
Today’s journalistic standards discourage altering or blurring photographs to sanitize images that might be offensive.
Here’s a real-life example: In 2020, the National Archives apologized for blurring signs in a photograph of the 2017 Women’s March held the day after President Trump was inaugurated. The signs were critical of the president. One sign included the word “vagina.”
The altered photo was removed from the exhibit.
In other words, under modern journalistic guidelines, the students acted appropriately.
Offended by the photos? Here’s what to do
The Paso Robles yearbook team could have saved themselves some grief had they selected photos that did not include profanity, if they were available.
But students are going to push the envelope. That’s sort of their job.
For anyone offended by the yearbook photos — especially those who went so far as to call for staff to be fired or students to be denied diplomas or jobs — we have a couple of suggestions.
Don’t wait for the district to take corrective action. Simply blot out the offensive words with a black marker. (Be sure to let the ink dry so it won’t smudge.)
And the next time President Trump uses the F-word, let him have it. Maybe write a letter to the White House, calling him a “classless brat.” Even better, threaten to take away his diploma.
This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline “Trump says the F-word. But SLO County students are condemned for using it? | Opinion.”
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