On any other day at Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, Daniel Galli and his four friends would not even be noticed for wearing T-shirts with the American flag. But Cinco de Mayo is not any typical day especially on a campus with a large Mexican American student population.
Galli says he and his friends were sitting at a table during brunch break when the vice principal asked two of the boys to remove American flag bandannas that they wearing on their heads and for the others to turn their American flag T-shirts inside out. When they refused, the boys were ordered to go to the principal’s office.
“They said we could wear it on any other day,” Daniel Galli said, “but today is sensitive to Mexican-Americans because it’s supposed to be their holiday so we were not allowed to wear it today.”
The boys said the administrators called their T-shirts “incendiary” that would lead to fights on campus.
“They said if we tried to go back to class with our shirts not taken off, they said it was defiance and we would get suspended,” Dominic Maciel, Galli’s friend, said.
The boys really had no choice, and went home to avoid suspension. They say they’re angry they were not allowed to express their American pride. Their parents are just as upset, calling what happened to their children, “total nonsense.”
“I think it’s absolutely ridiculous,” Julie Fagerstrom, Maciel’s mom, said. “All they were doing was displaying their patriotic nature. They’re expressing their individuality.”
But to many Mexican-American students at Live Oak, this was a big deal. They say they were offended by the five boys and others for wearing American colors on a Mexican holiday.
“I think they should apologize cause it is a Mexican Heritage Day,” Annicia Nunez, a Live Oak High student, said. “We don’t deserve to be get disrespected like that. We wouldn’t do that on Fourth of July.”
As for an apology, the boys and their families say, ‘fat chance.’
“I’m not going to apologize. I did nothing wrong,” Galli said. “I went along with my normal day. I might have worn an American flag, but I’m an American and I’m proud to be an American.”
The five boys and their families met with a Morgan Hill Unified School District official Wednesday night. The district and the school do not see eye-to-eye on the incident and released the following statement:
The district does not concur with the Live Oak High School administration’s interpretation of either board or district policy related to these actions.
The boys will not be suspended and were allowed to return to school Thursday. We spotted one of them when he got to campus — and, yes, he was sporting an American flag T-shirt.
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This is an OUTRAGE!! Something NEEDS to be done about this school’s administration!! This can NOT be TOLERATED!!
GOOD for these boys AND their parents!! That student who made the “comparison” about how she wouldn’t wear a Mexican flag on the Fourth of July…Thats A BAD comparison because you should NEVER wear another country’s flag..you’re in AMERICA!! Especially on the Fourth of July!! Cinco De Mayo..Um, as long as you are CELEBRATING it HERE in the UNITED STATES..you’re still in AMERICA!! It’s because of AMERICAN men and women that you have the FREEDOM to even celebrate you’re holiday!! Don’t you know that during WWII Germany wanted to take/invade Mexico. They wanted a warmer climate. AMERICA DEFENDED Mexico, and told Hitler to BACK-OFF!! It’s only because of AMERICA that Mexico still exists! In light of the economy problems, I’m not so sure that was a wise decision!!
Those young men at Live Oak are what AMERICA is all about..FREEDOM. Freedom to wear your flag proudly, freedom to stand firm on your beliefs, freedom to EXPRESS those beliefs! God bless them. Shame on the school’s principal, vice principle and the WHOLE administration for allowing this to happen, HERE in AMERICA!! How DARE THEY!! Let me guess, The vp and the principle are Latinos who happen to be racist and “in charge” of a bunch of school kids. Shame on them. They should be repremanded! I hope the parents MAKE SURE that they ARE!!
One more thing, I saw this the other day on an old pick-up truck on the freeway:
AMERICA ~ Land of the Free..BECAUSE of the BRAVE.
Made me hold my head high..
Every store in America that distributes t-shirts such as Wal Mart, Old Navy, Sears or J.C. Penny sells shirts with the American flag. These shirts became especially common after the United States was attacked on it’s own soil on 9-11. My own children have several of them and the men on their father’s side of the family are all military veterans who wear the flag proudly on their shirts. One is even an Eagle Scout. My sister’s husband is a vet who was a POW. He not only wears the flag on his shirts, he has sent them to his nephews to wear. My brother’s Mexican-American wife is a veteran and her father was a vet who was captured by the Koreans during the Korean War. She wears the flag. So let’s not BS about how it is illegal or undesirable in the United States of America to wear an article of clothing with the American flag on it. As every American knows, you may wear a flag logo anytime, it is always acceptable and in style. Nobody in America has ever been stopped, cited or criticized for wearing a shirt that has a depiction of the American flag on their clothing. Using a flag as an article of clothing is different, particularly if the flag has been disfigured. But I have never heard of anyone getting into trouble for that, either.
The school in question is a public school. It is 100% funded by the American taxpayer. The Hispanic students were carrying their flags about the school and nobody cared. That’s what the real problem to them was. It didn’t make anyone angry that they were celebrating a military victory against the French that Mexico does not care about or celebrate. The spineless administration was afraid that certain students could get violent at the sight of these shirts and demanded that the shirts be removed.
If certain students may get violent at the sight of the American flag on ANY day of the year, they do not belong in a federally-funded school. I want to ask how the school managed to not disrespect these certain students with American flags on the flagpole and in every classroom. Did the school cancel the Pledge of Allegiance for the day to not violate the feelings of these certain students?
When the boys were sent home for wearing the shirts, the certain students got their victory and should have been happy that day. However, finding out that the rest of the country was displeased with the actions of the principal made them angry and the NEXT day, they decided to leave their school, where they receive their free public education, and rant violently down the street, grabbing and knocking down the American flag from men in a truck IN FRONT OF THE POLICE! The fact that they are bullies is not in dispute. The administration is afraid of these Children of the Corn.
It is time to shut down this district. There is no adult supervision. The administration and the Hispanic students need to apologize tho the American people who pay for their education.
One question: if we get up a collection to send these students to Ireland on the next Cinco De Mayo, what will the Irish students and administrators do when the students demand that the Irish flag be put way for the day and that no Irish student be allowed to wear the Irish flag on any article of clothing that day?
According to USC Title36 ch 10 section 176(d),and USC Title 4 ch1 section 3, using the US flag as an article of clothing is incorrect and a violation of US law.
Apparently being “proud to be an American” includes the right to deface the symbol of America!
cinco de mayo is not a mexican holiday.. it is the day the mexican army beat the french at the battle of Puebla.. it is a “holiday” first promoted by a beer company to sell more beer .. it is only a “holiday” in the far western united states…. and wearing a t shirt with a flag printed on it is not a violation of the law , cutting up a US flag to make a shirt would be.. I should know this , I live in the town where the revolt started in 1846 against corrupt Mexican rule of California ..