Student pic banned because of... flower?

MERRIMACK, N.H. - A New Hampshire teenager's yearbook photo has been rejected, because she's holding a flower. Merrimack High School student Melissa Morin's senior photograph featured her and a small red flower. School officials, however, said the picture is not going to make it in the yearbook because props aren't allowed.

In the photo, Morin, 17, who loves acting, is sitting on a costume trunk backstage at the Palace Theatre in Manchester. She wore a black and white sundress and clutched the flower.

"I totally understand that schools have right to dictate policy," said Manchester photographer Brett Mallard. "I think the issue is people need to be made aware that we've thrown common sense out the window. When we're restricting kids from holding a stupid flower in their hand, it's kind of silly, quite frankly."

The policy stemmed from a 2005 controversy in Londonderry, where a student posed with his gun. A judge ruled in favor of the school, but Merrimack officials said they didn't want to face similar scuffles.