Administrators at Westside High School said the award should only go to a black student. A student who later circulated a petition complaining about the racism inherent in that policy also was punished by the school.
The students nominated their South African friend by putting up some 100 posters around the school supporting his candidacy. The award has been given the last eight years to an outstanding black student as part of the school's Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration.
Good for those students.