U.S. flags and Illegals

School rules U.S. flags are symbols of bigotry against illegal immigrants.

"The flags no longer were being used as symbols of patriotism or of cultural heritage, but of ethnic intimidation, harassment and blatant bigotry,"

LONGMONT March 31,2006 - Skyline High School students walked out of class Friday morning to protest the school administration's new policy banning the carrying or wearing of American and Mexican flags.

Most of the 100 students were protesting that American flags were included in the ban. Many of them were unclear about the policy, thinking that only American flags were banned, when in fact the ban covers the flags of both countries.

The ban likely will be short-lived, lasting only as long as it takes for tempers to cool in the wake of Congress debating a contentious immigration bill, principal Tom Stumpf said.

"The flags no longer were being used as symbols of patriotism or of cultural heritage, but of ethnic intimidation, harassment and blatant bigotry," Stumpf said.

Tensions between Hispanics and non-Hispanics were building, Stumpf said, and the flags were being used as the wrong kinds of symbols. The ban includes T-shirts and other clothing that have replicas of the flags. It also includes Mexican or American flags flown from the antennas of cars parked on school property.

"My obligation is to secure the safety of students," Stumpf said. "The flags were being flagrantly misused to incite violence."

A group of sophomores said the ban likely was precipitated by an incident in which a student with an American flag waved it in the face of an Hispanic student.

About 35 percent of Skyline's 1,350 students are Hispanic. Most of the rest are non-Hispanic whites.

Normally, students get along well at Skyline, Stumpf said. "We have a great student body," the principal said. "There haven't been serious issues between Latinos and Anglos" until the last week or so.

"We tolerate each other," sophomore Devin Brueschke said, describing relations between whites and Hispanics at the school.

Sophomore William Lucero said the school administration probably invoked the ban because it fears being labeled biased if it were to punish more Hispanics than whites. "They should allow both Mexican and American flags," he added.

Stumpf said he was glad to see the walkout was peaceful. It was over by 1:15 p.m.

Students at Skyline and the rest of St. Vrain Valley School District are off for spring break next week. When they return April 10, the administration and teachers will talk to them about the incident and immigration issues.

There was "no question" that the tensions and the using of flags as instruments of harassment were sparked by the immigration debate in Congress, Stumpf said. The high school students are at an age when they can get passionate about political issues without "knowing all the details" of a debate or controversy, Stumpf said. RockyMountainNews.com