Senior may be banned from graduation for yearbook science joke

A Georgia teen is facing a ban from her own high school graduation because of a quote in the school’s yearbook.

Senior class vice president Paris Gray used the period table of elements to spell out “back that a** up” in part of her yearbook entry.

Her full quote read: “When the going gets tough, just remember to Barium, Carbon, Potassium, Thorium, Astatine, Arsenic, Sulfur, Uranium, Phosphorus.”

When you substitute in the abbreviations for each of the elements, the quote reads, “When the going gets tough, just remember to back that a** up.”

“I think their reaction was beyond what it should have been because nobody understood it,” Gray told WSB-TV.

The leading senior has already been given in-school suspension and was barred from participating in the school’s senior walk. Gray may also be banned from the upcoming graduation ceremony, where she was originally asked to speak.

Gray’s mother told WSB-TV, “My first reaction was, you are such a nerd.”

Do you think Gray should be banned from graduation, or is the school going overboard?

Follow Carrie Healey on Twitter @CarrieHeals.