Draven Rodriguez yearbook photo

Schenectady High School student Draven Rodriguez wants this photo to be his senior portrait in the yearbook.

(ipetitions.com)

An Upstate New York high school student wants his classmates to remember him as someone who loves cats. And lasers.

Schenectady High School senior Draven Rodriguez has started a petition to get his unusual photo featured in the yearbook as his senior portrait. "I'm hoping that with enough signatures, my school simply can't turn this down," he writes.

The picture shows Rodriguez wearing a suit, cuddling with a fluffy cat in front of an '80s style laser background. He says Vincent Giordano took and edited the picture, and gave permission to use it.

CBS 6 in Albany reports the school gave Rodriguez permission to put the "cat-tastic" image in the yearbook, but not as his senior portrait.

"To clarify, the school HAS NOT YET DECLINED this photo," Rodriguez wrote on his petition. "This is my pre-emptive strike just in case such a thing were to happen. I wanted as many backers as possible before the deadline of September 15th."

As of Thursday morning, more than 650 people signed the petition, surpassing his original goal of 500. He's also gained support from a Jezebel writer who calls Rodriguez an "American hero," inviting readers to join the cause.

"As a former teen who had a cat feature prominently in one of her senior portraits, I could not be any more pro-this," Jezebel News Editor Erin Gloria Ryan writes. "Let's make this happen."

To see the petition, visit www.ipetitions.com/petition/get-my-photo-into-the-yearbook.

**UPDATE: Petition has reached 6,000 signatures as of Saturday, Sept. 13. Rodriguez says "The school and I have worked out a compromise we're all happy with. [The photo] will be in there, just not in the senior section. More news to follow..."