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t a r g e t s n i e s t i d quo Each year, Libertyville High School’s yearbook staff reports that between 20 to 25 quotes submitted by the senior class are removed for including inappropriate content. Consequently, the 2019-20 yearbook will not include senior quotes. Though many factors played into this decision, the largest motivator was the school’s desire to avoid seemingly inevitable harm. The incident that sparked discussion about the topic at Libertyville took place at nearby Highland Park High School (HPHS) last 14 DROPS OF INK
spring. Before working at LHS, Principal Tom Koulentes held the same position at HPHS; his son graduated last year in the midst of the tumult caused by the controversial quotes. “While my decision wasn’t a direct result of what happened at HPHS, that situation certainly weighed heavily on my mind as I processed this situation with our administration and our yearbook staff,” Dr. Koulentes shared via email. At HPHS, two quotes deemed offen-
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sive managed to get through the filters of yearbook staff and school administration and were published in their yearbook. According to the Chicago Tribune, one of the controversial quotes read, “If you tell a big enough lie, and you tell it often enough, it will be believed.” Though attributed in the yearbook as “anonymous,” it is commonly associated with Joseph Goebbels, the Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany. Once the books were distributed, the quotes raised commotion among the
