Judge backs school who sent home students wearing USA flag shirts on Cinco de Mayo

[pwaldo]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...inco-Mayo.html

A school principal who sent home students wearing shirts showing the American flag on Cinco de Mayo had a legal right to do so, a judge has ruled.

Chief U.S. District Judge James Ware said school officials in Morgan Hill, California reasonably feared violence, which led them to ask the pupils to turn the shirts inside out or leave.

Students at the school are appealing the decision which meant ‘the rights of students promoting their Mexican heritage trumped the rights of students expressing their patriotism’, according to their lawyer.

The case arose at Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, California on 5 May last year, as some students celebrated their Mexican heritage.

Daniel Galli, Austin Carvalho, Matt Dariano and Dominic Maciel were sent home after wearing American flag t-shirts.

Three of the families sued the Morgan Hill Unified School District on the grounds that their right to free expression had been violated. They added that there had been discrimination as students wearing Mexican flag colours were not censored.

While the Supreme Court has ruled that public school students have the right to engage in non-disruptive free speech, that ruling ‘does not require that school officials wait until disruption occurs before they act’, Ware said.

Mark Posard, a lawyer for the Morgan Hill Unified School District, said Friday that Ware's decision ‘affirmed that school safety is paramount’.

Bill Becker, a lawyer for the youths and their parents, said they would appeal ‘this bizarre ruling’.

Speaking to the San Fransisco Chronicle, he added: 'The court found that the rights of students promoting their Mexican heritage trumped the rights of students expressing their patriotism.' He said he would appeal.

[duane1969]

I have so many thoughts that I can hardly get them straight...

* The latino students were threatened by the site of an American flag on a shirt?

* Why am I not surprised this was in California?

* So it is wrong to wear an American flag in an American school because a Mexican holiday is being observed?

My brain hurts.

[gladdyontherise]

I have so many thoughts that I can hardly get them straight...

* The latino students were threatened by the site of an American flag on a shirt?

* Why am I not surprised this was in California?

* So it is wrong to wear an American flag in an American school because a Mexican holiday is being observed?

My brain hurts.

My thoughts as well. It really doesn't make any sense, but I'm not suprised.

I will say this though, I think any Country's flag on a tshirt that is worn on another countrys holliday will anger some people. It shouldn't, but I have no doubts that it would.

[INTIMADATOR2007]

What has happend to our country . The thought of someone being offended by our flag in our own country is disgusting . They wouldn't have put up with this crap in the old days .

[tutall]

I am in no way agreeing with what was done... ButI do remember when this originally happened there was more to it than this story reports... There was a reason that actually somewhat made sense

[jaybird_1981]

Ridiculous.

[theonedru]

Celebrating Cinco de mayo outside the Mexican state of Puebla is just silly.

According to wiki for your folks knowledge

In the state of Puebla, the date is observed to commemorate the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín. Contrary to widespread popular belief, Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico's Independence Day the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico which is actually celebrated on September 16

[Theodor Madison]

This is the United State of America, you should be able to wear a shirt w/ a US flag anywhere, anytime.

[duane1969]

Celebrating Cinco de mayo outside the Mexican state of Puebla is just silly.

According to wiki for your folks knowledge

In the state of Puebla, the date is observed to commemorate the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín. Contrary to widespread popular belief, Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico's Independence Day the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico which is actually celebrated on September 16

See, I didn't know that. It puts a whole new light in Cinco de Mayo for me.

I am in no way agreeing with what was done... ButI do remember when this originally happened there was more to it than this story reports... There was a reason that actually somewhat made sense

I realize that there may have been a bigger issue than this article reveals, but that doesn't change the basic fact that students were punished for showing pride in their country.

I will wager that the PC staff at that school would slit their own throats before sending home a latino student for wearing a Mexican flag t-shirt on an American holiday.

[mrveggieman]

I got mixed views on this. I think that the students who were wearing the usa shirts were doing it out of spite to the mexican students. That being said everyone should be able to represent where they are from and unless it was shown that there was going to be a disturbance due to the patriotic t-shirts. I also disagree with the students getting suspended for wearing the usa t-shirts. If it was that serious everyone should have been told to change their shirts regardless of what country they were representing.