Students barred from graduation for displaying Confederate flag
According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, three seniors at Bloomington Kennedy High School were barred from participating in the school’s graduation ceremony because of what the school district called a prank involving Confederate flags. Rick Kaufman, a spokesman for the Bloomington School District (BSD), said the students were suspended after "carrying and waving" the flags in the parking lot as parents and students arrived at the school. Principal Ron Simmons spoke with the boys shortly after the incident and suspended each of them for three days based on the district's anti-discrimination rules. Superintendent Les Fujitake affirmed Simmons' decision despite objections from the boys' parents and several students. As recently as 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear appeals from students disciplined for displaying the Confederate flag. Many lower courts that have addressed the issue upheld decisions by school administrators. Two of the students contend Mr. Simmons overreacted. One of them also claims Mr. Simmons didn't witness the boys' compliance with other staff members' orders to remove the flag from school property. Almost 100 Kennedy students participated in the protest in support of the boys, including black students who are friends of the boys. Students wore white T-shirts with the three students' names and chanted, "Let them walk."
Mr. Kaufman pointed out that they would still receive their diplomas, but “graduation is a privilege, not a right.” Bloomington's conduct policies ban students from any school-sponsored activities including graduation during a suspension. Mr. Kaufman emphasized that while it was unfortunate that the boys' decision resulted in their exclusion from the graduation ceremony, the ban on the Confederate flag isn't new. "We believe and have communicated with students that the Confederate flag represents hatred, bigotry, intolerance, slavery, civil rights issues and discrimination," he said. Chuck Samuelson, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, believes any legal challenge by the students would have a "very, very slim" chance of succeeding. "If, in the opinion of the administration, your speech carries the possibility of a material disruption of the educational process, they can censor it," said state ACLU. "I wish students had more rights, but they have no rights."
Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune, 6/9/08, By Patrice Relerford