Parents, students speaking out about banning of Confederate flag
Posted: Sep 19, 2014
By Christina Fan, Reporter
SISSONVILLE, WV – Parents and students are speaking out after learning that Sissonville High School banned the display of the Confederate flag on school grounds.
“I think it’s an outrage,” said Jay Wiseman, who heard about the incident through social media. “Messing with people’s personal property, interfering with their freedom of speech, I think they should be fired.”
Sissonville HS Principal Ron Reedy said the ban happened after an incident in the school parking lot Thursday morning. About 15 vehicles pulled up for Homecoming Week with American and Confederate flags flying. Reedy said a staff member wanted the students to take down the flag because it would be distracting to drivers going by. A heated argument erupted between the two parties.
“The issue was not the Confederate flag,” said Reedy. “The issue was following school rules and not allowing something to become a disruption to the educational process.”
Some people say the school should have no say over what the students wear. Many describe the Confederate flag as a sign of pride.
“I don’t think they should be able to control what they wear,
But others say the flag evokes a different history.
“When I see the flag, I automatically think they want to bring back the times of segregation,” said Devon Creasey, who is African American.
"Kids will say all the time we fought the war over states’ rights,” said Jerry Throckmorton, a history teacher at Sissonville High School. “Well, the argument over state’s rights was over slavery.”
Principal Reedy said he plans to allow the Confederate flag back in school once the attention passes. Many people say they hope kids will think about the meaning of the flag before considering to wear it in the future.
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