Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
(May 6) -- Students take note: Wearing the Stars and Stripes on Cinco de Mayo could get you kicked out of school for the day.
At least that's what happened Wednesday to five sophomore boys at Live Oak High School in Santa Clara, Calif. School administrators deemed their conspicuous American flag apparel "incendiary" and likely to provoke fights on a day when many other students were permitted to don the red, white and green designs of the Mexican flag in celebration of that country's heritage.
Quote:
Superintendent Wesley Smith released the following statement:
The Morgan Hill Unified School District does not prohibit nor do we discourage wearing patriotic clothing. The incident on May 5 at Live Oak High School is extremely unfortunate. While campus safety is our primary concern and administrators made decisions yesterday in an attempt to ensure campus safety, students should not, and will not, be disciplined for wearing patriotic clothing. This matter is under investigation and appropriate action will be taken.
Must be the principal for got what country he lives in.
Five sophomores had the choice of going home, turning their t-shirts inside out or being suspended because the shirts had the American flag on them.
This is in California, folks. The principal said he thought it was insensitive of them to wear the shirts on cinco de mayo so gave the boys the ultimatum.
How far is this going to go before we do something to stop it?
Last edited by NoExcuses; 05-06-2010 at 08:40 PM..
This topic came up in the other Politics forum, so the mods will probably just merge your comments with that thread. But the simple answer is that the Supreme Ct. gives administrators a lot of leeway in curbing 1st Amendment free speech rights if it causes disruptions to the educational program or endangers the safety of kids on campus. This flareup was poorly handled and the principal should've asked all students to remove any and all flag emblems from their clothing to be equitable & even-handed. I'm sure the district has learned a lesson from this and will institute some sort of ban on flags/colors next Cinco de Mayo.
Yep, don't show your colors.
It seems to be against political correctness to show support for America anymore. You might offend someone.
Sad, very sad.
Sounds to me like the school administration copped out of a valuable lesson for all in cultural tolerance. I think they were more concerned about their own security inadequacies than any one child's psyche. Unfortunate. There's no guarantee anything bad would happen but they fulfilled their own prophecy by avoidance, didn't they?
The flag is not supposed to be used as apparel. If they want to wear the colors of the flag, then that's up to them. But using it as apparel does not show it the proper respect.
English speaking Americans are "foreigners" in some of our own schools. I am not surprised about Santa Clara. Things could definitely spiral out of control as most of the immigrants hate the USA and hate it more when you don't speak to them in their language.
Chalk it up as a foolish decision made by human beings. People make mistakes. I think everyone else is appalled at what happened, so I don't think it's some sign of the times. A school administrator did a dumb thing, that's all.
Must be the principal for got what country he lives in.
Five sophomores had the choice of going home, turning their t-shirts inside out or being suspended because the shirts had the American flag on them.
This is in California, folks. The principal said he thought it was insensitive of them to wear the shirts on cinco de mayo so gave the boys the ultimatum.
How far is this going to go before we do something to stop it?
This is a nonstory. Some red meat for tea baggers who are too lazy to read past the headline. The administrator said the principal of the school handled it badly and they shouldn't of been sent home.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
