ESCANABA, MI-- A “Student of the Week” article in the Escanaba Daily Press went terribly wrong for a Mid Peninsula student on Saturday.
A teacher who has been writing student profiles for years allegedly submitted one saying 14-year-old freshman Cody Pepin is “the Mount Everest of Idiocy” and “a lazy sluggard of a kid.”
Reaction to the post has been fierce. Some are calling for the teacher to be fired.
The Daily Press printed an apology Tuesday:
“The Daily Press is embarrassed that the Student of the Week submission for Mid Peninsula School was published the Saturday, Feb. 27 issue of the paper.
“The article about Mid Peninsula student Cody Pepin was allegedly written and submitted by a Mid Peninsula teacher. The teacher has been writing and submitting Student of the Week profiles to the paper for many years.
“The Daily Press is saddened that a positive part of the paper that seeks to honor area students was used by a teacher to submit a mean and nasty attack on a student.
“Most of all, the Daily Press wishes to apologize to Cody Pepin and his family for this incident and that the article fell through the cracks here at the Daily Press.
“The Daily Press has reached out to the Pepin family and Mid Peninsula school.
“Mid Peninsula Superintendent Eric VanDamme said, ‘What was published in the Daily Press over the weekend is not an accurate description of our Student of the Week Cody Pepin. On behalf of the Mid Peninsula School District I would like to offer Cody, his family, and the Daily Press a public apology. Cody is an excellent young man and we are proud to have him as a student. He will do great things in life!! We are investigating how this incident took place and are dealing with it internally. We take great pride in every one of our students and something like this should have never happened.’
“Again, the Daily Press apologizes to Cody and his family.
“A proper Student of the Week article on Pepin will appear on page 5A of today’s newspaper.”
The newspaper says a corrected profile will read as follows:
“Cody is an outstanding student at Mid Peninsula School. He can be counted on to make great decisions and treat others fairly. One of the most outstanding characteristics of a young student is the willingness to stand up for others even when adults are not watching, which Cody does on a regular basis. He is known throughout our building as the person who will stand up for what is right no matter what. On top of being a caring young man, Cody excels with his academics as well as being part of the high school robotics team. He has made a commitment to his academics and it has shown by getting excellent grades. Cody enjoys hunting, fishing, ice racing, being outdoors, dirt biking, and spending time with friends and family. We are proud to have Cody as a student of Mid Peninsula School.”
