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Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone! :) Manana (Is Soon Enough For Me)

The University of Michigan made headlines this week for initially canceling a screening of the blockbuster film American Sniper because some Muslim students said that it being shown would make them feel “unsafe.” The college has since reversed this decision, but it’s not the only time something like this has happened. Here are seven other things that a school or its students have declared hazards to campus safety: 1. Bill Maher When the University of Berkeley announced that Bill Maher would be its graduation speaker last October, more than 6,000 students signed a petition demanding that he be banned because...

The Supreme Court has denied an appeal from former California high school students who were ordered to turn their American flag T-shirts inside out during a celebration of the Cinco de Mayo holiday at school. The justices did not comment Monday in leaving in place an appellate ruling that found that school officials acted appropriately because their concerns about racial violence outweighed students’ freedom of expression rights. Administrators feared the American-flag shirts would enflame (sic) the passions of Latino students celebrating the Mexican holiday. …

A California school dispute that arose when students wore shirts emblazoned with the American flag on Cinco de Mayo could prompt the Supreme Court to take a new look at free-speech rules for high schools. Ever since students protested the Vietnam War by wearing black armbands, the justices have said the 1st Amendment protects the rights of students to peacefully protest at school, so long as their actions do not lead to a "substantial disruption." In recent years, however, some school officials have moved to curtail political fashion statements such as wearing T-shirts with Confederate flags or anti-gay slogans. They...

Rights: A Ninth Circuit Court ruling that students can't wear American flag T-shirts because they may offend Mexican students celebrating Cinco de Mayo is a ridiculous yet dangerous assault on the First Amendment. On Sept. 17, more than four years after Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, Calif., sent students home for wearing American flag t-shirts, an 11-judge Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled that it was the right choice, "tailored to avert violence and focused on student safety." The decision upheld the court's three-judge ruling in February that justified the school's actions based on tensions between Mexican...

Every year across the nation, several Pi Beta Phi sorority chapters host all-you-can-eat “Pi Phiesta” taco bar fundraisers at their respective campuses to raise money for charity. But that longstanding tradition, typically held around Cinco de Mayo, is in jeopardy. In the past few weeks, pressure from a handful of Latino students at two high-profile universities who complained the events are offensive prompted dramatic changes to two “Pi Phiesta” fundraisers. At Dartmouth College, the fundraiser was cancelled outright, and at Stanford University, the sorority girls scrapped their Mexican themed “Pi Phiesta” for a summery, ocean-themed one, although they still served...

At some point you would think MSNBC would just stop trying and go home. Remember when they tweeted that conservatives hate biracial families? Now they are apologizing for a segment that aired on Cinco De Mayo that stereotyped Mexicans as crazy drunk people. The irony is that MSNBC is the network that is notorious for calling other people racist and standing on their high horse. Here’s their apology: “On Monday, Cinco De Mayo, ‘Way Too Early’ made sarcastic references to the way some Americans celebrate the holiday. It was not our intention to be disrespectful and we sincerely apologize for...

The banner across the bottom of the screen proclaimed “Mexican Heritage Celebration.” So, a sombrero-wearing white guy pretending at being drunk was the way MSNBC decided to “celebrate” Cinco de Mayo? And no one wants to scream “rraaaaaacism” at that? And can we just dispense that this is a celebration of Mexicn heritage? If you were to ask someone born and raised in Mexico City how he celebrates Cinco de Mayo, he would look at you almost as if you were speaking German. Mexicans do not celebrate any such holiday as Cinco de Mayo. It is an American-created holiday, not...

U.S. President Barack Obama celebrates Cinco de Mayo at the White House, calling for comprehensive immigration reform. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).

Today, several dozen adults protested in front of Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, California. The protest was mostly silent and instead of signs, most of the protesters simply held American flags. This display was deemed "racist" by numerous onlookers and commentators. Georgine Scott-Codiga, president of the Gilroy Morgan Hill Patriots group stated, "We're just here to support the First Amendment's right to free speech. Cinco de Mayo is a circumstance of the issue. The issue is free speech." Tonight, some Latinos living in Morgan Hill plan a counter-protest. They allege that the display of American flags "implies Mexican...

Northwestern University continued to stumble over diversity issues this week as Mexican students voiced disagreement with a campuswide letter that advised students not to celebrate Cinco de Mayo by engaging in racially-offensive activities, such as eating tacos and drinking tequila. The letter was sent to students via e-mail, and published in The Daily Northwestern last week. Leaders of Alianza, a Latino student group, and the Associated Student Government called on students to remember that Cinco de Mayo commemorates Mexico’s victory over France in the Battle of Puebla. It is not a day to throw a sombrero-themed party, they said. “Some...

Diversity and tolerance is a one way street Via The DC Students in a California school district will not be allowed to wear American flag T-shirts on Cinco de Mayo, due to concerns that such displays of patriotism would inflame racial tensions by offending Mexican students on their holiday. The district’s policy concerned many free speech advocates, but was upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In response, Tea Party groups plan to protest outside Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill. And they will be wearing American flag T-shirts. “They silenced a symbol of patriotism and freedom in...

¡Ay caramba! Imagine the cries of offensive ethnic stereotyping or worse if Fox News had observed Cinco de Mayo by having one of its yanqui persons of pallor staggering across the set in a sombrero while chugging from a pint bottle of tequila? But it happened on MSNBC, so the PC police probably won't make a peep about it. At the today's transition from Way Too Early to Morning Joe, there was producer Louis Burgdorf with his Halloween-store sombrero and pint bottle. Way Too Early host Thomas Roberts encouraged Burgdorf "to drink the whole thing and eat the worm," meaning...

inco de Mayo is just an excuse for Americans to consume more Mexican food and drink. It’s nothing more than that. Even for Mexicans in America, it isn’t a day they celebrate. That didn’t stop Nancy Pelosi from seizing upon an opportunity to pander for Latino support. In what was surely a research project for one of her aides, she put out a statement on Friday imploring the heartless Republicans to pass amnesty on this “important day.” Most Americans don’t celebrate any holidays in the way in which they were intended or designated. They are paid holidays from work or...

L.A. bars laugh in the face of the Mexican drug cartels this Cinco de MayoYou’d think in light of The Great Lime Crisis of 2014, bartenders would have to get Iron-Chef creative to prepare for the margarita-thirsty masses heading their way this Cinco de Mayo. But surprisingly, apart from a few spots that have developed workarounds or shifted focus to lime-less alternatives, many bars and restaurants are not letting limited limes stop them from celebrating the holiday the way they want: with massive margarita drink specials. Here’s how L.A. bars are handling the holiday—with or without limes. Petty Cash: The...

A Mexican-themed drinking party promoted by employees of the student-run Coffee House at UC Davis has roiled the campus, threatening to ignite racial tensions even as the university ramps up admission for minorities and international students. Clad in red T-shirts and chanting slogans, about 100 UC Davis students participated Friday in a sit-in at the Coffee House, urging a boycott of the cafeteria. The protest came after some Coffee House employees promoted an off-campus party at a local park Saturday that they dubbed “Cinco de Drinko,” a name university leaders said had strong connotations of racism. The Facebook event page...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Officials at a Northern California high school acted appropriately when they ordered students wearing American flag T-shirts to turn the garments inside out during the Mexican heritage celebration Cinco de Mayo, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the officials' concerns of racial violence outweighed students' freedom of expression rights. Administrators feared the American-flag shirts would enflame the passions of Latino students celebrating the Mexican holiday. Live Oak High School, in the San Jose suburb of Morgan Hill, had a history of problems between white and Latino students on...

February 27, 2014 Appeals Court Says School Had Right To Ban U.S. Flag T-Shirts A student wears one of the shirts disallowed on Cinco de Mayo at Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, Calif. CBS SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO - Officials at a Northern California high school acted appropriately when they ordered students wearing American flag T-shirts to turn the garments inside out during the Mexican heritage celebration Cinco de Mayo, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the officials' concerns of racial violence outweighed students' freedom of expression rights. Administrators feared...

Today’s Dariano v. Morgan Hill USD (9th Cir. Feb. 27, 2014) upholds a California high school’s decision to forbid students from wearing American flag T-shirts on Cinco de Mayo. The court points out that the rights of students in public high schools are limited — under the Supreme Court’s decision in Tinker (1969), student speech could be restricted if “school authorities [can reasonably] forecast substantial disruption of or material interference with school activities” stemming from the speech. And on the facts of this case, the court concludes, there was reason to think that the wearing of the T-shirts would lead...

A Northwestern University Mexican student group finds “eating tacos and drinking tequila” to celebrate Cinco de Mayo racially offensive, and wants to see the practice come to an end. In a letter to the university’s paper, the Latin student group Alianza called for a “respectful” celebration to commemorate “the Battles of Puebla, in which a vastly outnumbered, under-equipped Mexican army twice defeated the well-armed, well-trained French army, which had not lost a battle in over fifty years.” This is not unlike a uniquely American holiday, which commemorates the moment when 56 men affixed their signatures upon the Declaration of Independence...