A Cobb County high school has apologized for a satirical piece in its student newspaper that referred to President Obama as a "Nazi" and said he shouldn't be re-elected because of his race.
Some parents and community members found the “Top 20” list offensive. Student leaders of “The Stinger,” which approved the article, said the list was meant as a joke. It appeared in the “April Fool’s” section of the paper, which is known as “The Zinger.”
An unsigned apology is posted on Sprayberry High's website:
“In regards to the Obama article, we would like to say that the article was meant as a piece of satire. The article … was meant to be a comedic take on the media’s comments on the President. Satire is the use of humor, irony or exaggeration to poke fun at certain parts of society. We realize that this did not come off as we intended, and we sincerely apologize for offending anyone.”
The Cobb school district said the article was published without administrative approval.
The author of the article was listed as “Uncle Sam American Extraordinaire.” The top four reasons on the list for not re-electing Obama were:
“1. He’s black. 2. He’s half white. 3. He’s a socialist. 4. He’s a Nazi.”
Some who read the list, didn’t get the joke. The story went viral on Twitter and Facebook.
Parents who saw it began calling Cobb County school administrators.
An apology was soon posted on Sprayberry’s website and read during the morning announcements explaining the lapse in judgment.
Jay Dillon, spokesman for Cobb County Schools, said student newspaper leaders sent out a video message apologizing for the “poor attempt at humor.”
Still, some parents say that the edition should have never made it past the faculty advisor or administrators.
"The article was reviewed by the faculty advisor and the rest of the newspaper staff," Dillon said. But the newspaper staff and advisor didn't seek an administrator's input on the sensitive material.
"The protocol is that anything controversial should be looked at by administration reviewers," Dillon said. "The reviewers are the principal and the administrator over the English department. The faculty advisor did not show the article to the reviewers prior to publication."
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