# Two Team Photos, One Difference: The Cheerleader With Down Syndrome



## Leeda.the.Paladin (Jun 20, 2021)

Morgyn Arnold is a natural cheerleader. She grew up supporting her six older siblings at sporting events in Utah and followed in her father’s and sister’s footsteps by becoming a cheerleader herself.

For Morgyn, who has Down syndrome, being on the Shoreline Junior High School cheer squad gave her a chance to make friends and feel included after transferring to the school last summer.

But when the school yearbook came out a few weeks ago, Morgyn, 14, was not in the team’s photo or listed as part of the squad. The school has since apologized for what it called an “error,” but Morgyn’s sister Jordyn Poll said she believed that the exclusion was intentional.











Mrs. Poll, 25, described on Facebook this week how two nearly identical photos were taken during the team’s photo shoot: one with Morgyn and one without. The photo without Morgyn was used for the yearbook and school social media accounts.

“We found out when Morgyn came home from school with her yearbook and she was devastated,” she said. “Watching her feel that and watching her see that broke my heart.”

The controversy is only the latest in a string of dust-ups over yearbooks. Students and parents demanded an apology after a Florida high school altered photos of dozens of girls to cover more of their chests, and yearbooks in Florida, Texas and North Carolinadrew backlash for their coverage of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Shoreline Junior High School, which is in Layton, north of Salt Lake City, posted a public apology to Morgyn’s family and “all others impacted by the error” on its Facebook page on Tuesday. 

School employees involved with the cheer squad did not reply to requests for comment. But Shauna Lund, the community relations supervisor for the Davis School District, told The New York Times that the incident was under investigation and that the school planned to work with the family to “ensure that this does not happen again.”
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“We are deeply saddened by the mistake that was made,” Ms. Lund said. “We are continuing to look at what has occurred and why it occurred.”
Morgyn’s father, Jeff Arnold, said that instead of pointing blame at the school, he wanted to use the situation to raise awareness about the importance of thoughtful inclusion and compassion.

“If we can find ways so that this doesn’t happen to somebody else, that’s all that we want,” Mr. Arnold said. “That’s all that matters, because we can’t go back and put her in the yearbook.”

Morgyn’s family did not want her to speak directly with The Times because of concerns over online harassment. But according to Mrs. Poll, Morgyn has already forgiven everyone involved.

She said her sister had a positive experience on the team, where she spent hours learning dances, attending games and cheering on classmates.
“Those girls loved her. Those girls tried to do everything that they could to be inclusive to her and be kind to her,” Mrs. Poll said. “It’s not very often that people include her.”

One of Morgyn’s teammates, Maddie Campbell, 15, wrote that the team was “heartbroken” to find out she was not included on the yearbook page. “Watching her cheer would always make me so happy,” she wrote.

Maddie said she did not remember whether the photographer or the team’s adviser asked Morgyn to sit out of some of the team’s photos, and does not recall receiving an explanation for the action. She thought it was a weird request at the time, she said.

Morgyn, who has cheered her whole life, often practices by singing and dancing around the house. One of her favorite cheers involves asking fans in the stands to shake their booty.

Mrs. Poll described her sister as a sassy, spunky teenager with a big heart. “She is a personal cheerleader with everyone she comes in contact with,” she said.

Going forward, Mrs. Poll said she would love to see students with developmental disabilities have more opportunities to get involved with their classmates, rather than being “tucked away in the special needs room.” She also wants people to understand that just because someone is different does not mean their value is different.

Since the yearbook photo garnered public attention, Mr. Arnold said he had read hundreds of messages with similar stories about children — both with and without disabilities — being left out.

“This is about how do we do better for everybody, not just for Morgyn,” Mr. Arnold said.
And next school year, he said, Morgyn plans to continue cheerleading alongside her friends.


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## Everything Zen (Jun 20, 2021)

My friend and I were just talking about this the other day. EVERYONE forgets that they can end up being a minority when it comes to a disability. They knew what they were doing.

HOWEVER- I wonder if it was bc the girl didn’t have a uniform on like the other girls. That would be my first question because I honestly don’t think it had to do with her condition. She stuck out from the team in the photo and that’s one of the main things about cheerleading is the uniformity.


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## sunshinebeautiful (Jun 20, 2021)

They should have included her in the yearbook photo. They clearly included her in *a* photo with the rest of the squad - on what looks like the same day. Whoever made that decision not to is dead wrong.


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## Dee Raven (Jun 20, 2021)

I don't understand why there were photos taken without her if she was part of the team and present on the picture day. That's the real crime to me and that could only be intentional. That the yearbook committee even had a decision to choose a photo without her was the problem. They need to do more than an apology and if I had a kid at a school where something like this happened, I would demand that they correct my kid's yearbook. That's so unacceptable.


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## dancinstallion (Jun 20, 2021)

Why is she not in uniform like the rest of the girls and where are her pom poms? This makes me feel like she wasn't really a member of the squad and they just let her cheer sometimes with them. hence taking two photos one with her and one with the real squad.


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## dancinstallion (Jun 20, 2021)

Also she doesnt have on white shoes like everyone else nor is she positioned with her feet behind her like everyone one else. So again it looks like the real cheerleaders were taking photos then someone said hey Morgyn come take a picture with us. Half of the girls are not smiling as hard in that picture either. But in the real photo the cheerleaders were positioned, bright smiles and picture ready.


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## nysister (Jun 21, 2021)

dancinstallion said:


> Also she doesnt have on white shoes like everyone else nor is she positioned with her feet behind her like everyone one else. So again it looks like the real cheerleaders were taking photos then someone said hey Morgyn come take a picture with us. Half of the girls are not smiling as hard in that picture either. But in the real photo the cheerleaders were positioned, bright smiles and picture ready.


I agree. I think she's on the cheer squad but not a cheerleader. 

That's like taking a photo with your "family" that includes close friends, and your real family. 

Anyhow #NBWH


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## CarefreeinChicago (Jun 21, 2021)

If that girl with the red hair can get in the year book she should have been included


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## yamilee21 (Jun 21, 2021)

CarefreeinChicago said:


> If that girl with the red hair can get in the year book she should have been included


I was focused on Morgyn when I first saw this story, but it is striking how generically similar they all look - are some of them wearing wigs? 
There was no cheerleading at my high school (never was, probably never will be), nor is there cheerleading in the soccer I watch, so I have zero conception of cheerleading, and even less interest.

It was cruel for Morgyn to be excluded; no matter how they phrase it, it means she has never been truly accepted as a real part of the team. Parents of disabled children have fought so hard for inclusive (least restrictive) environments, but on many levels, there is no real inclusion.


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## LiftedUp (Jun 21, 2021)

She should've been provided with a uniform and pom poems and included in the official picture. 

I do wonder what were her parents thinking when she left to take group photos without the uniform and if she usually wears uniforms at games.

However, whatever her role was, if she's part of the team then she's part of the team and should've been included in the official picture.


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## B_Phlyy (Jun 21, 2021)

dancinstallion said:


> Why is she not in uniform like the rest of the girls and where are her pom poms? This makes me feel like she wasn't really a member of the squad and they just let her cheer sometimes with them. hence taking two photos one with her and one with the real squad.


Agreed. The first thing I noticed in the first picture was not that Morgyn had Down syndrome, but that she was the only one out of uniform. Trust, if a cheerleader can remember the schedules for 2-3 sports and practices, there's no way she didn't remember it was picture day and not be in uniform. 

Usually though, if a cheerleader isn't in uniform on picture day, there is some strategic posing and placing of props (pompoms, signs, banner) to hide the lack of uniform. And they always name everyone of the team.  They should have given her something to hide her not having a regular uniform, or had her kneeling in the second row with some poms in front of her. Having her front and center was an oversight by the coach and/or photographer.



CarefreeinChicago said:


> If that girl with the red hair can get in the year book she should have been included


This is why red/burgundy hair is in the back row. Yes, she's taller but some schools deem 'unnatural colors' of hair out of uniform and will not put those cheerleaders in the front or center. But I agree, if she's in, Morgyn should be in.


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## nysister (Jun 22, 2021)

I've found more to this story. I still think it would have been nice to keep her in the photo, but I don't know rules about Squad Managers being in photos. If they're there normally, she should be in the official photo, if not, than despite how bad it looks, it's standard.

"Morgyn Arnold, 14, was the _*manager *_for the Shoreline Junior High School cheer squad, her father Jeffrey Arnold told CNN. She would attend games and cheer and participate in other activities to boost school spirit, he said."

According to her Father "It’s unclear who made the call to leave Morgyn out of the photo and why, _*but Arnold told Buzzfeed News that in his experience, it has been “fairly typical” to include team managers in yearbook photos*_."

The bigger question is, if she has the physical ability, can Morgyn try out for, and have a reasonable expectation of actually becoming a Cheerleader? That would show more of who they were as people, than this situation. An even bigger question, if there are any Black girls in this school, and they're interested in becoming Cheerleaders, does this opposition to exclusion apply to them as well, or do they just have to deal with it?









						Cheerleading manager with Down syndrome left out of team photo in junior high yearbook | CNN
					

The family of a Utah teen with Down syndrome say they're grateful for the outpouring of love and support she's gotten from friends and the community after she wasn't included in the cheerleading team photo in her school's yearbook.




					www.cnn.com
				




#NBWH


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Jun 23, 2021)

nysister said:


> The bigger question is, if she has the physical ability, can Morgyn try out for, and have a reasonable expectation of actually becoming a Cheerleader? That would show more of who they were as people, than this situation. An even bigger question, if there are any Black girls in this school, and they're interested in becoming Cheerleaders, does this opposition to exclusion apply to them as well, or do they just have to deal with it?


I went to the school's website or youtube (I can't remember which) and there's nothing but a sea of pale faces and blond/light brown hair, so I dont think most of the have even seen a black person aside from on tv  They would probably pass out if any black student enrolled, let alone applied for the cheer squad.

Yes she's the manager. I guess, why bother to even take a picture and get her hopes up, if they weren't going to include her in the year book? EVen one of the girls said she thought it was weird that Morgyn was asked to leave so they could take another picture. I'm sorry but something is fishy here. The school is pseudo inclusive.


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## ThursdayGirl (Jun 23, 2021)

I wondered if she was a manager.  Is that kind of like the bat boy/girl on a baseball team?  Or the (often times kid) who helps out a basketball team?  The pic with her should have been in the yearbook, but I understand why there was a pic with her taken.


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## nysister (Jun 23, 2021)

Leeda.the.Paladin said:


> I went to the school's website or youtube (I can't remember which) and there's nothing but a sea of pale faces and blond/light brown hair, so I dont think most of the have even seen a black person aside from on tv  They would probably pass out if any black student enrolled, let alone applied for the cheer squad.
> 
> Yes she's the manager. I guess, why bother to even take a picture and get her hopes up, if they weren't going to include her in the year book? EVen one of the girls said she thought it was weird that Morgyn was asked to leave so they could take another picture. I'm sorry but something is fishy here. The school is pseudo inclusive.


I think that Pseudo inclusive is a good way of putting it. They let her be manager to make her feel included, but don't really want her to be fully included, that's a shame.

Yeah, I didn't think there were that many Black people in that area.


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## naturalgyrl5199 (Jun 23, 2021)

nysister said:


> I've found more to this story. I still think it would have been nice to keep her in the photo, but I don't know rules about Squad Managers being in photos. If they're there normally, she should be in the official photo, if not, than despite how bad it looks, it's standard.
> 
> "Morgyn Arnold, 14, was the _*manager *_for the Shoreline Junior High School cheer squad, her father Jeffrey Arnold told CNN. She would attend games and cheer and participate in other activities to boost school spirit, he said."
> 
> ...


Some kiddies with Downs have heart issues that prevent them from strenuous activities.

However, Team Managers are always in the pic, on the side or middle. They flaw. 
Period.


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## nysister (Jun 23, 2021)

naturalgyrl5199 said:


> Some kiddies with Downs have heart issues that prevent them from strenuous activities.
> 
> However, Team Managers are always in the pic, on the side or middle. They flaw.
> Period.


Awwww wow. On top of everything else.  

Got it. Well that seals it, she should have been in the photo, and there's no reason to have excluded her short of their prejudices.


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