This is truly heartbreaking. Draven Rodriquez, the Schenectady High senior who inspired smiles around
the Internet with his laser-tastic, fluffy cat-cuddling yearbook photo, has
committed suicide.
The 17-year-old took his life at home on Thursday, according to the
Daily Gazette. Draven went viral last Fall after petitioning to have the
creative photo with his cat, Mr. Bigglesworth, be his official senior portrait.
He told the Daily Gazette in September: “I don’t
want to go in the yearbook with the generic ‘I-look-like-everyone-else’ photo. I
wanted a ‘He looks great. Only he would try that’ photo.”
Unfortunately, the school district vetoed its inclusion among the
boring, normal senior portraits. The school’s principal, however, agreed to
pose in a similar-style photo with her dog.
The duo’s photo, taken by the original
photographer, Vincent Giordano, would run on the principal’s yearbook
page along with a pro-animal rescue message.