Flags Banned At Local High School- students SUSPENDED for bringing US FLAG to school

CBS ^ | April 01, 2006 | Sher Zieve

[Former Military Chick]

(CBS4) LONGMONT, Colo. Several students were under suspension for flying flags at Skyline High School in a debate over immigration that has sparked debates over free speech and patriotism.

On Friday, some of the students skipped classes and took to the sidewalks outside the school.

"If this country means freedom why can't we fly our own flag? It's ridiculous," said Dustin Carlson, a suspended student.

The walkouts started on Monday when Mexican-American students began protesting the immigration bill now being debated in Washington, which calls for criminalizing illegal immigration.

Several carried Mexican flags which started counter protests from students who bore American flags. That's when the school stepped in.

Principal Tom Stumpf said students were becoming involved in what the school saw as bigotry.

Mexican-American student Lupita Silva claimed there were racial slurs and epithets.

"Just because you're Latino, they hate you," Silva said.

Stumpf said he feared the conduct with flags on schools grounds could "pretty quickly erupt into violence." He said it's his responsibility to ensure the school and students were safe and called reaction to the suspensions "misguided patriotism."

Several students were suspended but only after they were told no overt action deemed to be racial would be tolerated.

"It wasn't because of the flag necessarily. It was because of the fact that they had been warned before," Stumpf said.

[King Prout]

it is getting pretty damned disgusting, isn't it?
spines and sound judgement have apparently vanished in many areas in our once vigorous republic.

[StarCMC]

Disgusting is right.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Longmont Democratic Sen. Brandon Shaffer said in a Friday evening interview that he’d talked to Searls, Stumpf and school superintendent Randy Zila and was satisfied that their actions were intended “to stop bullying” and to “defuse a potentially harmful situation.”

“They saw a potentially violent situation and they were trying to protect the safety of the kids,” Shaffer said. “If I felt that they were denying a person’s right to display the American flag and to demonstrate patriotism, I would be the first one to call them on it.”


Key words: If I thought (that denying an American kid the right to display the American flag) WAS denying a person’s right to display the American flag and to demonstrate patriotism ...

See, this democrat (naturally!) doesn't see that his actions are doing exactly what he is immediately lying about.

ONLY Mexicans have rights. Everybody else is racist.

[Mojave]

All flags? They need to ban some words too like, "American."

Yep. And if they don't have a pledge of allegiance to Aztlan they'll need to ban the pledge of allegiance to the United States of America. Don't want to upset the Reconquitas and make them violent.

[Robert A Cook PE]

School districts get MONEY (from the state, county, and feds) based SOLELY on how many students are in each classroom each day. Not on quality, not on what's learned, strictly on attendance.

If kids skip, then their received money goes way, way down.

That 's why the school districts HATE home-schooling. It cuts their budget, and exposes them for the fraudulent education the kids are allowed to get away with.

[Robert A Cook PE]

But a Marine served as honor guard.

[American in Israel]

Since Brains are the true source of bigotry, perhaps they should behead all the students. At least they would match the brainless administrators.

Only a liberal can believe that you protect freedom by banning it.

[MACVSOG68]

Thanks for the ping FMC, but you're not going to like my response. If the principal's account of the incidents is true, and if the US flag was being used to taunt others as part of a demonstration or counter-demonstration, and if the scene was going to turn violent, he had every right and duty to put a stop to it. Flags, especially the US flag should be handled and treated only with respect and with a specified etiquette. If those students were using it disrespectfully, they deserve to be sanctioned.

BTW, he did not ban the school US flag nor any in the classrooms. I've heard him called every name in the book from anti-American to fascist, to America hater, liberal etc, but I have yet to see any evidence of that.

[Dead Corpse]

Little Jeebus jump up...

Those kids busted for flying the US flag should be given a reprieve and a full apology. The kids flying a Mexican flag should be reminded what country they are in. If they still want to fly the Mexican flag after that, give them all one way tickets to Mexico City.

[ishabibble]

Actually, Comrade Stumpf didn't do anything but cave into his own PC BS. There is another principal, Mr. Ennis, from Texas, who suspended all protesters at his high school, and banned them from the prom. Now, that's control.

If there is a flag pole in front of a taxpayer-funded American public high school, what flag do you think should be flown from it?
It would seem that, in CO, just plain common sense is right out the window.

[SandRat]

All the local vets organizations should stand on the sidewalk just OFF School property totally encircling the school, all carrying an America Flag. Do this at the start of the School day until first bell and and at the end of the school day. Whis there they should play sing all four verses of the Star Spangled banner, You're a Grand Old Flag, I'm Yankee Doodle Dandy, America, Sousa March, and conclue with the singing of Battle Hymn of the Republic. Do that each day until the Principal grows some backbone.

[EverOnward]

"...the Stars & Stripes isn't just ANY flag to be lumped in with ALL flags - it's our OWN flag."

Agreed. However, clawrence3 and those of his ilk do not share your love and respect of "Old Glory." Here are some quotes from 8th and 9th graders on what the flag means to them:

The American flag to me represents freedom. Freedom to me means being willing to live within boundaries that respect the dignity of everyone. Melissa Sommer

* * *

I think that the American flag means a lot of things. I think it means freedom, justice, power and liberty. I am Puerto Rican and Dominican. I was born here in the U.S. I represent America to the fullest. Isenia Gomez

* * *

The stars on the flag look like the sky at night that leads me through the future. Laura Tittle

[SouthTexas]

Saw this last night. Obviously a person that lacks the understanding and history of this country and is this ignorant of the laws of this country, should not be in position of authority.

Maybe schools in Mexico need new people.

[HungarianGypsy]

I didn't immigrate. I was born here. By "chilling" I meant it gives one chills. The same way my postcard of the American flag flying next to the World Trade Center does. In order to keep that flag (during the War of 1812) from coming down as a sign of surrender, someone from the fort would hold up the flag. If that person was killed, then another person would take over and so it went. A lot of those people literally did die for that flag that night. That's what I meant. It wasn't supposed to be a bad comment.

[TXnMA]

"Just because you're Latino, and parade your illegal status, wave your snakey flag around, curse the citizens of land that sustains you, and demand a free ride that you da#n well do not deserve they hate you," Silva should have said.

[HungarianGypsy]

Thank God, American children are learning to love the flag. Thank God young Americans will stand up for the flag and the country. God bless our troops.
During the 2000 rallies, we brought one US and one Arizona flag. When we would go to the local Wal-Mart they had the large versions of these flags in front of the store. My daughter (who was then three) would point at them and say, "Look! They have our flags." On a side note, we knew the kids had been filmed by a news crew. When we watched the report we expected to see my son marching around with his "Al Gore. President of Chads" sign. What they showed at the end of the report was my daughter waving her little U.S. flag.

[texasmountainman]

It would have been appropriate to ban all foreign flags, but not the U.S. flag.

Good grief, this is the United States of America, not the United Nations!

[seastay]

“I always agee with Jesus. And, forced to choose between man's law and His law, I choose His”

If you wish to follow Jesus rather than men, why do you rally around those whom are trying to take over a laws and a justice system that was founded on Christian doctrine authority, those who wish hand over infrastructure and tax base of generation of native families to every man on the planet simply because they claim it is their right to work? The false claims of a right to work and steal infrastructure, is indeed just a claim of men itself.

To some, the withholding authority of the US constitution is following Jesus. Justice here in this case is that people who are steeling infrastructure should be dealt with. It is not the right of every man on the planet to come here and to use our resources, and to import terrorism gangs and lawlessness, and it is our right to deal with these crimes, Jesus never advocated that people be victims of crime.

There is even biblical example of Jesus himself dealing with those who advocated abandoning the authority, even using violence by overturning the tables of the merchants in a temple. Therefore those who wish to overturn the tables of merchants and their workers are not totally rejecting the model of Jesus, since the workers and the merchants in this case are advocating lawlessness and the lack of authority of a nation that was founded on Christian principles .

Jesus also said take the splinter out of your eye first before you judge another, so before anti American immigrants judge this countries successes in following the intent Jesus, They first should look at their own, is that is the type of government they are advocating, the same type they are fleeing, with its lawlessness?

Remember that Jesus did not represent a lack of authority, if fact he preached just the opposite, by saying the only sin that will not be forgiven is disrespecting the authority of God.

If outsiders say realistically immigrants are going to ignore borders, and it the only humane thing to do to erase US sovereignty, then the rebuttal should be; realistically there is going to be a government set up by men what ever the outcome of the disputed borders, and whose type of government is going to fill the vacuum to try to follow the intent of God?

I would say it is the US government that should rule its people and strive to have the moral authority of God…but for it succeed it needs its laws to be obeyed first before we can even begin to talk about charity and the humane thing to do as missionaries to the rest of the people on the planet.

[Oberon]

If ALL flags are banned, where is the problem again? Sounds like appropriate safety control to me.

Except for the part where they curtail free speech. I agree that there are limits to free speech, but bearing on your person the flag of your country falls well within them.

[mthom]

While the flags being waved were mexican the principle didnt ban any flag. When American flags started showing up then he decides to ban "all" flags. Its not exactly calculus.