Students Petition for Right to Display Confederate Flags

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Students in western Michigan have petitioned their school district for the right to display the Confederate flag on school grounds after being cautioned against displaying the emblem that has been criticized as a racist symbol.

Hastings Area Schools Superintendent Carrie Duits told The Grand Rapids Press/MLive.com that 304 students signed the petition. Prompted by some parents who had seen the a Confederate flag in a school parking lot, Duits asked high school students not to display the flag on their vehicles, hats or clothing while school is in session.

The students have been respectful about their request and “nobody has been disciplined,” she said.

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“This was a request — not a ban — out of concern for others,” Duits said. “Learning comes through conversations, and there is a lot of discussion among students who are talking about it and sharing experiences and ideas peacefully.”

The petition was presented to the Hastings school board Monday. The district has not acted on it, nor is it obliged to do so.

[RECIRC}A lawyer for the Michigan Association of School Boards said displaying the Confederate flag is protected speech under the First Amendment, though the Supreme Court has ruled that school districts may regulate speech in some circumstances.

“It is a difficult issue for school districts but they can regulate that speech in order to regulate the school learning environment because all students should feel safe and secure and not feel threatened,” the lawyer, Brad Banasik, told the newspaper.

The small group students who were displaying the flag were doing so as a symbol of rebellion rather than one of racism, Duits said.

Hastings, whose enrollment was 2,788 last year, is a mostly white school district. Of the 882 students at the high school last year, 830 were white and seven were black.

» File photo by hculligan via Flickr/Creative Commons