Teen who stirred yearbook photo flap arrested with mom

Video: Yearbook photo too racy? Student fights back

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   >>> we're back with a controversy brewing at a colorado high school over one student's yearbook picture . we'll talk to her exclusively in a moment. first tamron hall has her story.

   >> choosing a senior yearbook photo is an opportunity for kids to show individuality. when acid sydney spies submitted her photo the all student editorial board were going to use it but changed their mind.

   >> as students we have the right to express what we want to be. there are students who like sports. if i like modeling i should show that.

   >> reporter: for other magazines and stuff it's a really good photo . for a high school yearbook it's not appropriate.

   >> an aspiring model, spies subjemitted a second picture . that, too, was rejected.

   >> reporter: her mother understands her daughter's self-expression could bring on a painful backlash.

   >> i knew people would react this way. she was adamant. looking at the picture , i see it the way sydney sees it. it's artistic. it's stunning.

   >> the school administration insists they played no part in the all-student editorial board 's decision.

   >> reporter: there was absolutely no influence or any kind of coercion whatsoever.

   >> that's a pretty one.

   >> over the past few year it is yearbook has won several awards. that legacy contributed to the rejection of sydney 's photo .

   >> reporter: we don't want this picture to make it seem unprofessional and inappropriate and for people to discount our hard work we spend weeks and months working on.

   >> in a twist, sydney can use the picture of her choice if she pays to put it in as an ad.

   >> reporter: i'm spending $300 of my own money to have that picture in the yearbook .

   >> with her high school career winding down, sydney is learning that just trying to be yourself isn't as easy as it sounds.

   >> reporter: i just didn't want to be boring. i'm not a person who's going to stand against a wall and smile.

   >> this is an interesting question of self-expression. sydney can submit the picture of her choice but the editorial board has the right to choose what it feels is appropriate for the yearbook . matt?

   >> reporter: thank you very much, tamron. sydney spies is here with her mother. good morning to you both.

   >> good morning.

   >> good morning.

   >> this was posted in your high school paper on friday. a classmate wrote that the senior portrait isn't about a first impression. it's about the last impression, the image of you that will be immortalized. do you agree? and why do you want that photo to be that image?

   >> i really honestly think that it describes who i am. people can take it however they want, that i'm an outgoing person and i really do think it's artistic. like i said, people have their sports pictures, pictures with their horses or guitars. that's my interest.

   >> i was reading this last night. i incorrectly assumed when i first heard the story i said, okay, this is a bunch of faculty members that got together in the administration and said, this isn't the image we want for our school. then i realized, no, these are your peers. this is an editorial board made up of other students. it surprised me that they drew this hard line . did it surprise you?

   >> yeah, especially because they agreed to it in the first place. before any of this there was a 4-1 vote in my favor.

   >> what do you think changed their mind?

   >> i think it was the administration. they had a meeting with the principal and the next day their whole decision changed completely against me. they were completely against the picture .

   >> which is not supposed to happen. they are supposed to be independent of the school. isn't that correct?

   >> exactly.

   >> another thing that caught my attention is that they don't want this to be your official yearbook portrait. but as you mentioned in the piece that tamron showed us, they're okay if you buy an ad page in the book and put that photo as part of that page. so $300 make it okay.

   >> yeah.

   >> what was your reaction when you learned that?

   >> if it's going to be in the yearbook anyway, why should i not be able to have it as my senior picture ? that's what i don't understand.

   >> as a mom, when i look at the picture it's provocative. you say it's beautiful and artistic and i guess it is artistic. it's also not the run of the mill yearbook photo . you say you knew it would cause a reaction. did you think it was entirely appropriate?

   >> oh, i asked her not to do it. i said, sydney , really, is this the one you want?

   >> what about the second photo ?

   >> i didn't think that was nearly as provocative.

   >> yet you are supporting her on this. do you disagree with the editorial board 's decision?

   >> when your child is spreading her wings, you just want to come alongside and support them. that's what i'm doing as a mother.

   >> do you plan to take this further, sydney ? do you plan to file some kind of a suit which would draw more attention obviously to the situation? are you willing to take it that far?

   >> i don't know if i want to go that far with it. i'm still hoping that they might let me have that picture in there. but it's illegal for the administration to get involved. so that's why we have considered that option.

   >> is this going to end up with a picture of you in the yearbook that's the classic standing against a wall smiling like every other photo ?

   >> definitely not. i will find something.

   >> the principal asked when we had the meeting on friday, sydney , do you not want any picture in the yearbook ?

   >> would that be an option you would consider?

   >> if i submit another one they think is a little bit provocative, i feel like -- that second picture , i feel they are censoring me because of the situation. if they're going to censor that picture i feel they have to censor everyone. there were people saying, if they censor that they should censor my picture . i have a strapless dress.

   >> it's a slippery slope .

   >> yeah.

   >> nice to have you here. we want to know what you think about this. should sydney be allowed to use her picture , either picture as her senior class portrait? log onto today.com to share your

   >>

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