A high school in suburban Oklahoma City is reportedly facing some well-deserved backlash after a senior student was told he was no longer allowed to fly the American flag on his truck while on campus.
The student, Caleb Horst, told reporters that he was informed by school officials in Edmond on August 21 that it was against school practice to bring flags onto school property. The student, who had been displaying the flag on his vehicle for some time, expressed his frustration with the policy. “I’ve never really had problems with it before, and it’s our First Amendment, so it’s kind of hard for them to infringe upon our rights,” he said, according to KOCO.
Horst has received an outpouring of support from community members, many of whom expressed their displeasure with the school’s ridiculous policy. A group of parents and students rallied on the morning of August 26 to show their support. About 50 vehicles, all adorned with American flags, circled the school in protest of the policy.
“I’ve got a brother in the military so it kind of hit home to me ‘cause I was like he’s fighting for that flag, we should be allowed to fly it,” said Vance Miller, a fellow student.
The district quickly released a statement after facing the blowback, insisting that the policy was not new nor was it about the American flag itself or patriotism.
The statement read:
“It is the practice of Edmond Public Schools to not permit students to fly or bring flags of any kind on our school campuses. This practice has been in place for several years and is explained to our students at the start of the school year along with various other policies and procedures.”
The district further added that the rule was “designed to prevent disruptions and distractions during the school day,” and ensure safety in the parking lot, according to KOCO.
This explanation did not seem to win over the community. “If it’s the flag today, what is it tomorrow?” said parent Lynn McNeely, in an interview with KOCO. “It’s not a protest. It’s not political. It’s not about red. It’s not about blue. It’s about red, white and blue. So, where do we draw the line?”
Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters announced that the state would issue new guidelines to protect students’ rights to display the flag.
“No school in Oklahoma should tell students they can’t wave an American flag. We’ve had Americans die for that flag, die for students to have the right to carry the flag, to wave the flag, to be proud of that American flag,” he said in a video posted on X:
Kids in Oklahoma should be allowed to display the American flag and not be punished for being patriotic. New guidelines will be issued concerning the flag and honoring our country. pic.twitter.com/RcGo8Aogu5
— Superintendent Ryan Walters (@RyanWaltersSupt) August 26, 2024
This has got to be one of the dumbest school policies I’ve seen. It would be quite a spectacle to see supporters of the rule explain how a student flying an American flag on his truck would be disruptive or distracting, as the school district argued. Do they believe that students will not be able to focus on their schoolwork in class because they are thinking about a flag on a truck?
Without knowing who enacted or supported the policy, it’s hard to know what they were thinking when they proposed it. It seems more likely that some viewed Horst’s display as a political statement, which is not only silly, but quite sad. The flag is a symbol of the country, nothing more, nothing less. Flying the flag in a neutral matter can’t possibly be construed as a political act. The notion that this even had to be a debate is ludicrous.
