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"Boobies" are out but "titty" is in at Rocky Mountain Middle School in Heber City.
Midway mother Heather Malovich is fuming after her children were barred from wearing cancer-awareness bracelets emblazoned with the slogan "I [heart] boobies" but the school's yearbook cover sports the word "Titty" in big, green letters.
"I probably wouldn't have made such a big deal out of it if it hadn't stung my son so bad," she said Monday.
Last August when she took Joshua, 13, to register at Rocky Mountain Middle School, the two were told "brusquely" by Wasatch County School District officials that the bracelet with the word "boobies" was offensive, Malovich said.
Joshua, and his 14-year-old sister, Maren, wore the bracelets to support their mother, who is a cancer survivor.
"When I got my cancer, they felt like they had no power," Malovich said. "The bracelets gave them a little bit of power. It was something they could do."
She said her son was upset after the bracelets were banned.
The bracelets are marketed by Keep A Breast Foundation, a California-based nonprofit that funds research and education programs, as part of a national breast cancer awareness campaign.
Controversy over the bracelets has arisen in other places, including Granite School District in Salt Lake County.
In December, Corbin Barber, a 17-year-old senior at Hunter High School, was told he could not wear the "I [heart] boobies" bracelet.
That prompted the Utah affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union to intervene. Shortly thereafter, Granite District and Hunter High changed the policy to allow them.
Since then, a federal court in Pennsylvania has ruled the bracelets qualify as free speech and can be worn in school.
"Schools can regulate political or religious speech only if it is lewd or vulgar, or if it would cause a substantial and material disruption in school. That's what the Supreme Court has said about restricting students' free speech rights," said Darcy Goddard, legal director of the Utah ACLU. "It's a stretch, at best, to argue that another word for the female breast is either lewd or vulgar."
Malovich was not aware of the ACLU's activity. She had put the bracelet issue behind her until last week, when Joshua showed her a copy of his yearbook. The cover was designed by students and appears as graffiti, capturing names and initials of students in a haphazard and colorful fashion. One of its most outstanding features is the word "Titty" in bright green letters. The word apparently is a student's nickname.
"It's not OK," Malovich said. "It's a double standard."
Wasatch County School Superintendent Terry Shoemaker concedes "mistakes were made" with the yearbook cover design. The school district is reviewing its policies and procedures for yearbooks, he said.
But Shoemaker said he does not see a connection between the yearbook and the policy regarding breast cancer awareness bracelets.
"The administration made the decision not to allow [bracelets]," he said. "But we do want to support, the best we can, breast cancer treatment and awareness."