“It’s not racist, I can tell you that right now.” Hannah Smith, another student, said.
Twenty-Four students at Christiansburg High School were suspended Thursday after wearing clothing with Confederate flags on them, in protest of school dress code. The school has general policy against offensive attire. Its even prohibited to have decals with the Confederate icon on their cars if they were using the schools parking lot. Prior to receiving parking passes students signed a contract stating they would not display the flag. Some students said they wore the flags in protest of the bans.
“They’re trying to get rid of it, and they’re not trying to get rid of any other flags,” student Forrest Taylor told NBC affiliate WSLS. “They say that it’s a racist thing even though it’s not.”
Before entering school that Thursday morning, the students were asked to comply with the school dress code, but 21 out of the 24 refused. So those 21 students that didn’t were given one-day in-school suspensions. A lot of them became disruptive towards the school environment with “loud displays and behavior.” Which caused additional actions of discipline to be taken. Two of the students received three-day suspensions for “threatening and abusive language”. The school does value students’ First Amendment rights, they still need to maintain an orderly and safe environment for all students. Also the Montgomery County Public Schools Spokeswoman Brenda Drake said the school didn’t ban the flag to make a statement about it’s symbolism, but rather to ease tensions.
“We are not issuing a judgment on the flag, but know that not allowing it at CHS supports a peaceful educational environment in the building,” said Drake. “Continued racial friction suggests that lifting the ban of this particular symbol would cause significant disruption at the school.”
The Confederate Flag has brought a lot of controversy in the US. This flag has been used by the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups, which has made it offensive. But after the Civil War, the Confederate Flag represented an important symbol of the Southern identity. In my opinion, the school actually contradicted its self by banning the Confederate Flag trying to make a “peaceful” education environment. Now, they have student protesters and new reporters all over the school property defeating the “peaceful” educational environment. Also, I think it was unfair that the school banned the symbol being anywhere visible on the students cars. That’s going a little overboard and shows that the school is abusing their power of authority. The students should have the liberty to fly whatever flag they like. The students should also show moderation.
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/confederate-flag-furor/christiansburg-virginia-students-suspended-after-wearing-confederate-flags-disrupting-school-n429456