Posted on 02/16/2006 9:17:50 PM PST by churchillbuff
BURLESON – Two Burleson High School students who were kicked out of class for displaying rebel flags say they will take their fight to court.
They said they are proud of their heritage, but Burleson High School education officials said the Confederate symbol is offensive.
Ashley Thomas said it all started when she was approached by a school administrator.
"Principal comes up and says, 'You've got to get rid of your purse ... it's racist,' " Ashley said.
Ashley and Aubrie McAllum both received purses patterned after the Confederate battle flag from their parents for Christmas. Both girls decided to take their presents to school.
"I don't have 'KKK' written on me or anything; it's just a purse," Aubrie said. "[It] doesn't have anything to do with what color you are."
The students were asked to leave their purses with the principal; they decided to leave school after calling their parents.
Ashley was sent home three times this week.
"I'm at the point where I really don't know what to do," she said. "I want to keep going to school and get my education, but this is my life. I was born and raised in the South. Why is the flag so bad?"
Burleson school district spokesman Richard Crummel said it's because the purses violate the school's dress code.
"We don't want students to wear anything that might cause a disruption, and that symbol has done that in the past," Mr. Crummel said.
Aubrie's father, Rick McAllum, belongs to the Sons of Confederate Veterans and said he disagrees.
"That's a heritage violation on her, on me ... on all of us," said Mr. McAllum. "So we can push it."
Ashley's mother, Joni Thomas, is from New York, but the parents of both girls praised their daughters and vowed to fight.
"I'm hiring a lawyer," Ms. Thomas said. "I'm going all the way with it, because I think it's wrong."
Burleson High School, with 2,200 students, is about 90 percent white and 8 or 9 percent Hispanic. There are few blacks.
"We want to be sensitive to everyone [and] make it comfortable in school for all our students," Mr. Crummel said.
Time for schools to go to a dress code. Someone is going to be offended by just about everything, so put them all in the same garb and then the kids can worry about things other than what they are wearing.
I imagine that I, and the other 9 out of 10 white guys who aren't racist, are getting sick unto death of having southern heritage insulted. And it is a heritage issue. June 3rd my home state of Kentucky observes Confederate Memorial Day. Many times my dad will fly the stars and bars on this day. And I got no problem with that.
This is another instance of hard-left liberal infestation of our school infrastructure by people like Ward Churchill. We have to take back our schools, and put Americans in charge.
Obviously Crummel's concern for "everyone's sensitivity" doesn't include the girls sensitivity.
I guess my idea for Mohammed purses would be a non-starter, then.
Don't worry - it's all being done in the name of free speech/expression...
Burleson High School
100 N W John Jones, Burleson, TX 76028
Phone: (817) 447-5700
Fax: (817) 447-5796
Put on your eyeshades, put in your earplugs, you know where to put the cork!
He's Got A Plan
Zippo Hero
We could eliminate SO many problems in our society if we could eradicate this goofy notion that there's a right in this country to not be offended. The problem is that 99.9% of the time, the defensive party caves in, instead of standing up and saying, "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH."
In Houston, they're about to change the name of the soccer team, currently named HOUSTON 1836, because Latinos are offended because that's the year Texas won its independence from Mexico. Uh...excuse me, but...if you don't celebrate that fact, why the HECK are you living in Texas?
I could of course list a gazillion other examples, but you good folks know exactly what I mean. One nutjob can scream, "I'm offended!" and the relevant establishment goes into a wild scramble to appease them. And of course the MSM fans the flames at every opportunity.
MM
"Burleson High School, with 2,200 students, is about 90 percent white and 8 or 9 percent Hispanic. There are few blacks.
"We want to be sensitive to everyone [and] make it comfortable in school for all our students," Mr. Crummel said."
It's all about numbers.
Majority rules and the confederate flags should stay. It's about our legacy! It's about what our forefathers wished - a nation of our progeny.
I wonder if these school officials would ban the U.S. flag if someone found it to be offensive?
LOL! That'll be next. I'm sure they'll have no problems with kids wearing CCCP sweatshirts, though.
Yeah or sweatshirts with "WalMart is Anti-American" on them.
Shouldn't the ACLU be harassing their school-board to protect their 1st amendment rights?
Walmart's great. Our foreign trade policies, and lack of immigration enforcement and border security, on the other hand...
No, it's not! It's all about PC, and hard-left liberal "screeching" points.
Numbers make us mighty.
Immigration policies is changing the proportions and this is what we get. The majority is being diluted through inane immigration policies and laws.
PC (ie, fear) is nothing more than the symptoms of changing demographics.
Without questioning your intentions I personally am deeply offended by the use of the Stars and Bars for a dress. It dishonors the noble flag and the men who supported it.
I think her school tried to keep her from wearing it to her prom, and her parents sued the school district.
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