State sued
over yet another
yearbook photo

A student in Castle High's
tome is allegedly wearing
a Ku Klux Klan outfit

By Debra Barayuga
Star-Bulletin

A photograph in Castle High School's 1998 yearbook of a student allegedly wearing a Ku Klux Klan costume has resulted in a lawsuit against the state.

It is the second lawsuit filed in two years against a Windward public school over material considered racially sensitive appearing in a school publication.

Yesterday's suit names as defendants the department and Board of Education, former schools Superintendent Herman Aizawa, current Superintendent Paul LeMahieu, Castle High Principal Barbara Teruya and yearbook adviser Patti Harrington.

The department hasn't seen the lawsuit and normally cannot comment on pending suits, DOE spokesman Greg Knudsen said.

The suit does not name former student Paul Lynch, who wore the costume to school on Halloween.

An alleged history of racism

The suit was filed by the parents of Selima Boyce, an African-American student at Castle. It alleges publication of the photo violated her civil rights and created an "intimidating and hostile offensive school environment" for African-American students and their parents.

The suit also alleges school administrators failed to take appropriate action following the photo's discovery, and earlier when Lynch apparently began expressing and acting out his dislike for African Americans.

Besides informing his African-American teacher that he is racist, Lynch made racial remarks such as "when you were in chains," threw books at her, wrote racially offensive papers about African Americans and treated her with hostility, the suit alleges.

Although Teruya and other administrators at Castle were notified about his behavior, requests by his teacher to have him transferred or disciplined went unheeded, the suit says.

On Oct. 31 -- Halloween -- Lynch showed up for class wearing what he claimed to be a druid costume.

"The outfit was a white sheet covering his body, with a white hood, the same as worn by KKK members," the suit says.

Father denies son is racist

Lynch's father yesterday defended his son's actions, saying his son's costume was indeed of a druid priest, and not a KKK member.

A druid is a member of a Celtic religious order in ancient Britain, Ireland and France.

"If anyone knows about the KKK uniform, they would know it has a pointed top," said Leo Lynch. "Paul's was dead-flat." The background of the photo made it seem as though he wore a pointed hood, he said.

While his son may say things without thinking, "Paul is absolutely not a racist," his father said. "My family has no time for the KKK and their philosophy because it's intolerant of Jews, Catholics and blacks."

The suit asks that the yearbooks be immediately recalled, that mandatory courses on African-American history be taught in the public schools and that the department, teachers, staff and students have mandatory racial sensitivity sessions and diversity classes on African-American history taught by qualified educators.

It also seeks disciplinary action against the yearbook adviser.

Last lawsuit was settled

In August the state settled a suit filed a year ago against the department by the parents and guardian of two African-American Kalaheo students for a photo caption they felt was racially offensive.

It was settled after the state agreed to pay $80,000 and give yearbook advisers racial sensitivity and racial harassment training.

Training for all public school yearbooks and newspapers is scheduled to begin next month. Meanwhile, the department and school board are trying to develop a policy that requires schools to come up with a publications code that governs all student-sponsored publications, including audio and visual productions.

Teruya, who also declined comment on the suit, said such a policy would serve as a good reminder for everyone in the schools about the need for racial sensitivity and tolerance.

This year, Castle formed a yearbook committee made up of several students, a parent, a teacher and an administrator in response to the incident at her school, she said. The committee is responsible for reviewing photographs and copy before it goes to the publishers, and when proofs come back.