American Flag T-Shirts on Cinco de Mayo

[NAVA1974]

Who says flags are irrelevant?

Students Kicked Off Campus for Wearing American Flag Tees-
MSNBC.com

By George Kiriyama
NBCBayArea.com
updated 12:58 p.m. ET, Thurs., May 6, 2010


On any other day at Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, Daniel Galli and his four friends would not even be noticed for wearing T-shirts with the American flag. But Cinco de Mayo is not any typical day especially on a campus with a large Mexican American student population.

Galli says he and his friends were sitting at a table during brunch break when the vice principal asked two of the boys to remove American flag bandannas that they wearing on their heads and for the others to turn their American flag T-shirts inside out. When they refused, the boys were ordered to go to the principal's office.

"They said we could wear it on any other day," Daniel Galli said, "but today is sensitive to Mexican-Americans because it's supposed to be their holiday so we were not allowed to wear it today."

The boys said the administrators called their T-shirts "incendiary" that would lead to fights on campus.
"They said if we tried to go back to class with our shirts not taken off, they said it was defiance and we would get suspended," Dominic Maciel, Galli's friend, said.

The boys really had no choice, and went home to avoid suspension. They say they're angry they were not allowed to express their American pride. Their parents are just as upset, calling what happened to their children, "total nonsense."

"I think it's absolutely ridiculous," Julie Fagerstrom, Maciel's mom, said. "All they were doing was displaying their patriotic nature. They're expressing their individuality."

But to many Mexican-American students at Live Oak, this was a big deal. They say they were offended by the five boys and others for wearing American colors on a Mexican holiday.
"I think they should apologize cause it is a Mexican Heritage Day," Annicia Nunez, a Live Oak High student, said. "We don't deserve to be get disrespected like that. We wouldn't do that on Fourth of July."

As for an apology, the boys and their families say, 'fat chance.'

"I'm not going to apologize. I did nothing wrong," Galli said. "I went along with my normal day. I might have worn an American flag, but I'm an American and I'm proud to be an American."
The five boys and their families met with a Morgan Hill Unified School District official Wednesday night. The district and the school do not see eye-to-eye on the incident and released the following statement:
The district does not concur with the Live Oak High School administration's interpretation of either board or district policy related to these actions.

The boys will not be suspended and were allowed to return to school Thursday. We spotted one of them when he got to campus -- and, yes, he was sporting an American flag T-shirt.

URL: Students Kicked Off Campus for Wearing American Flag Tees - NBCBAYAREA- msnbc.com

© 2010 MSNBC.com

[Robin Hickman]

.

BUT WAIT . . . . . There's MORE !!!


American Flag Clothing Sparks New Protest - NBCBAYAREA- msnbc.com


By Lori Preuitt and George Kiriyama
NBCBayArea.com

Updated 11:17 p.m. PT, Thurs., May 6, 2010

A day after five Morgan Hill students were sent home for wearing American flag T-shirts, the controversy erupted ten-fold.

Dozens of students at Live Oak High School made a mass and impromptu walk out of class Thursday. They weren't protesting the ejections and instead were showing their Mexican-American pride. Many support the school's decision and say they were offended by their classmates' wardrobe choice. Many of the students who walked out Thursday held Mexican flags as they left campus. The said they marching for respect and unity.

"My plan is to bring out the message we are also Americans and we need Americans to show our culture respect of our Hispanic background," student Mike Hernandez said.

The group walked to City Hall for a loud but calm noontime rally. They returned to school in about 90 minutes and finished the day in class.

The controversy began when Daniel Galli and his four friends were approached by the vice principal during lunch on Cinco de Mayo. He asked two of the boys to remove American flag bandannas that they wearing on their heads and for the others to turn their American flag T-shirts inside out. When they refused, the boys were ordered to go to the principal's office.

"They said we could wear it on any other day," Daniel Galli said, "but today is sensitive to Mexican-Americans because it's supposed to be their holiday so we were not allowed to wear it today."

The boys said the administrators called their T-shirts "incendiary" that would lead to fights on campus.

To many Mexican-American students at Live Oak, this was a big deal. They say they were offended by the five boys and others for wearing American colors on a Mexican holiday.

"I think they should apologize cause it is a Mexican Heritage Day," Annicia Nunez, a Live Oak High student, said. "We don't deserve to be get disrespected like that. We wouldn't do that on Fourth of July."

The superintendent of the Morgan Hill Unified School District, Dr. Wesley Smith, sent out the following message about the incidents:.

"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 situation and our response are under review.
We know that this is an emotionally charged topic. We would ask you to encourage your students to be safe and focus on their academics while in school. If conversations and/or activities are necessary to express their feelings on this issue, we will find appropriate venues that do not disturb student learning or jeopardize the safety of our students. Furthermore, we encourage everyone to demonstrate respect for each other, open communication, and responsibility."

The story has sparked an outcry from groups and individuals across the country, including a high school student in Yorktown, Va., who created a Facebook page titled "I support the 5 students from Morgan Hill high school." As of this afternoon, the group had 51 members.


Robin Hickman
Eugene, Oregon, USA
.

[Peter Ansoff]

This sounds like it was a bad call by the school administrators -- even their own School District thought so! On one hand, I do feel some sympathy for the administrators; they were trying to diffuse a tense situation. However, you'd think they'd have realized that their actions would only make things worse.

It sounds like everyone involved needs a seminar on the subjects of patriotism, civility, and mutual respect (not necessarily in that order).

Peter Ansoff

[Robin Hickman]

.

AND THEN . . . . .


http://cbs5.com/local/rally.american.flag.2.1682186.html



May 8, 2010 7:41 pm US/Pacific
Flag Flap Truce For Morgan Hill Students

MORGAN HILL (CBS 5 / KCBS / AP) ―
One of the flag shirts that prompted the dismissal of Live Oak students.

Tired of racial tensions that started on Cinco de Mayo, students at Morgan Hill's Live Oak High School chose to send a different message on Friday.

Following an incident Wednesday involving clothing items bearing the U.S. Flag that drew national attention, many students chose to wear neutral colors Friday as a symbol of peace.

News of the plan was released online, and quickly went viral. Junior Lauren Rebardo got a text message Thursday that students were planning to wear white and purple for peace, and chose to join them.

"We had a few students send text and Facebook messages to a bunch of people, as many as they could in the school. Hopefully we end up with a lot today," said Rebardo.

An assistant principal at Live Oak told a group of boys on Wednesday to take off bandanas and shirts bearing American flags or turn the shirts inside out, according to some of the boys. At least one of the boys was also wearing shorts with the U.S. flag. The students refused and were sent home.

The decision to send the students home quickly gained national attention. On Thursday, a group of Hispanic students marched through the nearby area in support of the Administration's move. Some students and parents have said that this is not the first time the holiday has escalated racial tensions.

Senior Justin Sanchez said this is the second year that Live Oak students have paraded red, white and blue on the day, which marks the Mexican army's victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla.

"During lunch, some students walked through the quad with a big American flag and it raised a lot of tension between a lot of students," said Sanchez.

Sanchez was one of dozens of Latino students who walked out of class in protest.

George Valencia, a Live Oak parent, disagrees with the school's decision to punish students for sporting the American flag.

"To tell them, you know, to turn shirts inside out or to take them off, I would have taken it offensively," said Sanchez.

School officials have said that students will no longer be punished for wearing patriotic apparel.


Related Stories

• S. Bay Students Wearing U.S. Flag Shirts Sent Home
  (5/6/2010)
• Morgan Hill Students Rally After Flag Flap‎
  (5/7/2010)

The (Apparent) Lesson Of The Day ?

DISRESPECT RULES ?



Wadda ya gonna do ?


Robin Hickman
Eugene, Oregon, USA
.