Wyo high school student petitions to include senior portrait with gay pride flag

by Dustin Bleizeffer
January 28, 2013
(NOTE: School officials reversed their decision on Tuesday, January 29. For an update, click here.)

A Worland High School senior is petitioning Washakie County School District No. 1 to allow the inclusion of his senior portrait, which features the gay pride flag, alongside his fellow classmates’ photos in the school’s yearbook.

Worland High School senior Matt Jolley. School officials say the inclusion of the gay pride flag is too political for inclusion in the school's yearbook unless Jolley buys an ad for its placement. (Courtesy Matt Jolley — click to enlarge)
Worland High School senior Matt Jolley. School officials say the inclusion of the gay pride flag may be too political for inclusion in the school’s yearbook unless Jolley buys an ad for its placement. (Courtesy Matt Jolley — click to view)
Worland High School senior Matt Jolley. School officials say the inclusion of the gay pride flag may be too political for inclusion in the school’s yearbook unless Jolley buys an ad for its placement. (Courtesy Matt Jolley — click to view)

Matt Jolley, 18, is openly gay. He recently told WyoFile that when it came time to select a shot from his senior portrait photo shoot, his family and friends encouraged him to go with one in which he’s holding a small Rainbow flag. Last week he learned that the high school’s administration has tentatively decided not allow the inclusion of the photo, reportedly because the Rainbow flag might be considered overly political.

As a compromise, Jolley said the school will allow him to include his portrait by purchasing a $50 ad space in a portion of the yearbook reserved for ads. But Jolley said that’s not the same as having his portrait included right alongside his classmates’ photos.

“I really don’t think it’s political,” Jolley said of the inclusion of the Rainbow flag in his portrait. “It’s not like a Nazi flag or the KKK. It’s a universal thing… It’s not a political statement for me.”

Worland High School principal Randy Durr told WyoFile that no final decision has been made in the matter. He said the question about whether to include the photo in the yearbook does not center on a question of gay rights, but whether the inclusion of the gay pride flag is overly controversial — something that the school tries to avoid no matter the subject. Durr said he’s impressed with Jolley as a student and impressed with the way he is handling the matter; taking it through the school district’s established appeals process. The question first arose with the yearbook advisor, who took it to principal Durr, and now the case is being sent to the school district superintendent.

“We are trying to determine whether it’s a political statement or not,” Durr told WyoFile.

Jolley launched a petition campaign on Change.org, an online petition platform, to try to persuade school officials to change their stance on the matter. Jolley said he was scheduled to meet with Worland High School officials today (Monday, January 28) to further discuss the matter.

Jolley said he came out on Facebook late last summer, even though he’d believed that most people already knew he was gay. “I was surprised most people didn’t know.” Jolley said he loves photography and plans to attend The Art Institute of Colorado beginning this summer.

— Dustin Bleizeffer is WyoFile editor-in-chief. You can reach him at dustin@wyofile.com, (307) 577-6069. Follow Dustin on Twitter, @DBleizeffer

REPUBLISH THIS STORY: For details on how you can republish this story or other WyoFile content for free, click here.

If you enjoyed this story and would like to see more quality Wyoming journalism, please consider supporting WyoFile: a non-partisan, non-profit news organization dedicated to in-depth reporting on Wyoming’s people, places and policy.

Dustin Bleizeffer covers energy and climate at WyoFile. He has worked as a coal miner, an oilfield mechanic, and for more than 25 years as a statewide reporter and editor primarily covering the energy...

Join the Conversation

1 Comment

WyoFile's goal is to provide readers with information and ideas that foster constructive conversations about the issues and opportunities our communities face. One small piece of how we do that is by offering a space below each story for readers to share perspectives, experiences and insights. For this to work, we need your help.

What we're looking for: 

  • Your real name — first and last. 
  • Direct responses to the article. Tell us how your experience relates to the story.
  • The truth. Share factual information that adds context to the reporting.
  • Thoughtful answers to questions raised by the reporting or other commenters.
  • Tips that could advance our reporting on the topic.
  • No more than three comments per story, including replies. 

What we block from our comments section, when we see it:

  • Pseudonyms. WyoFile stands behind everything we publish, and we expect commenters to do the same by using their real name.
  • Comments that are not directly relevant to the article. 
  • Demonstrably false claims, what-about-isms, references to debunked lines of rhetoric, professional political talking points or links to sites trafficking in misinformation.
  • Personal attacks, profanity, discriminatory language or threats.
  • Arguments with other commenters.

Other important things to know: 

  • Appearing in WyoFile’s comments section is a privilege, not a right or entitlement. 
  • We’re a small team and our first priority is reporting. Depending on what’s going on, comments may be moderated 24 to 48 hours from when they’re submitted — or even later. If you comment in the evening or on the weekend, please be patient. We’ll get to it when we’re back in the office.
  • We’re not interested in managing squeaky wheels, and even if we wanted to, we don't have time to address every single commenter’s grievance. 
  • Try as we might, we will make mistakes. We’ll fail to catch aliases, mistakenly allow folks to exceed the comment limit and occasionally miss false statements. If that’s going to upset you, it’s probably best to just stick with our journalism and avoid the comments section.
  • We don’t mediate disputes between commenters. If you have concerns about another commenter, please don’t bring them to us.

The bottom line:

If you repeatedly push the boundaries, make unreasonable demands, get caught lying or generally cause trouble, we will stop approving your comments — maybe forever. Such moderation decisions are not negotiable or subject to explanation. If civil and constructive conversation is not your goal, then our comments section is not for you. 

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  1. When I was in school, people published photos that captured “their spirit,” if you will. My brother posed with an electric guitar, that he never truly learned to play. Many girls, on the swim team (and one who was not) had their swimsuits on. Some had photos with a clarinet or maybe their football jersey/cheerleader outfit. It is a descriptor of “their” time in HS. How is this different?

    Reply