By A.S. Kinsmen

Everyone remembers when Obama took a selfie at the funeral of Nelson Mandela a few months ago. It was rude, it was crass, and it was, above all, disrespectful. But it appears that Obama isn’t the only one who is taking pictures of himself at inappropriate times.

A high school student in Alabama has provoked internet fury by posing for a photo in a university biology department. What makes this selfie so offensive is the fact that she posed the photograph with another person – a dead one.

A cadaver.

The unnamed student – who cannot be identified publicly because she is a minor – is seen grinning broadly with the corpse in the photo, which was taken during a school trip to the University of Alabama. The purpose of the trip was designed to teach pupils about an anatomical donor program.

Though usage of phones was explicitly banned from the trip, it did not stop this one brash girl from using hers, and using it unwisely. She then made matters worse by posting the photo to her Instagram account. By the time she had taken it down, it was too late: Another student had reported the photo, and it had already sent a domino effect of horror and shock across the country.

Her principle has declined to suspend her, but says that Clements High School is considering a suitable punishment for her abhorrent behavior.

The University of Birmingham has also responded to the student’s actions. “No phones are allowed, no photos are to be taken, and faces of cadavers are covered. A student was made explicitly aware of these policies and breached them. This kind of disrespect is unacceptable and very disappointing. We will review our processes to ensure this does not happen again.”

A few online commenters have voiced their opinions on this quite vocally.

JustAView came to the girl’s defense, saying, “She is a teenager. Teenagers make mistakes – it’s what being a teenager is for – to learn how to be an adult! She needs a kick up the arse and her phone taken away for a couple of weeks. Maybe a few Saturday detentions!”

Many others, however, were not as forgiving.

“It is an outrageous act, but fairly typical of some young people who have little respect…..for anything, it seems.” Said one.

“The unnamed student is seen grinning broadly as the corpse is covered with a sheet in the photo.” The corpse in NOT covered by a sheet. From a US paper, “the student removed a sheet from a cadaver and took the photo. She is one sick biotch.”

One person tried to take a neutral stance on the matter. Sarah Tennant stated, “I really don’t see what’s wrong, but that’s just me.”

Ellie Green, another social media commenter, was swift to reply: “Would that still be the case if your mum or someone else you were close to was the deceased person in the picture?”

Sarah Tennant did not reply.

Another selfie gone too far.