Nease High School teacher forced to remove pride flag from classroom; students respond with demonstration

3 years ago 212

Image of banner was shared by right-wing societal media influencer

Photo of pridefulness emblem successful window.

PONTE VEDRA, Fla. – A ample radical of students astatine St. Johns County’s Allen D. Nease High School gathered successful protestation connected field earlier the doorbell rang Thursday morning.

The demonstration, which the territory described arsenic “peaceful” and “passive,” was successful effect to the school’s determination to region a pridefulness emblem from the schoolroom of the sponsor of the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance Club.

The emblem got wide attraction online aft a photograph of it was sent to and shared by right-wing societal media influencer, David Harris Jr.

In his Instagram post, Harris quoted the idiosyncratic who sent him the photograph arsenic saying, “What bash you deliberation astir precocious schools displaying cheery pridefulness flags yet telling students they’re not allowed to deterioration immoderate governmental attire? Please assistance maine and expos[e] this emblem astatine my children’s school. I americium acrophobic to interaction them straight owed to imaginable backlash.”

The territory aboriginal denied the rumor that students had been told they’re not allowed to deterioration governmental attire, pointing retired that school committee argumentation lone prohibits employees from taking governmental stances, not students.

“Political signs and immoderate different governmental materials pertaining to regulated governmental enactment arsenic defined, shall not beryllium displayed oregon distributed connected School District property,” SJCSD spokesperson Christina Langston told News4Jax. “Please enactment that these rules DO NOT use to students, successful fact, [Wednesday] students enactment flyers astir the school. Students regularly amusement their enactment for candidates oregon causes done their apparel.”

The teacher told News4Jax that schoolhouse administrators removed the emblem from her schoolroom window.

Nease High School elder Blythe Gouker, 18, helped signifier the pupil objection Thursday greeting and said the schoolhouse and territory should not presumption the pridefulness emblem arsenic a governmental statement.

“By taking the emblem down, they inadvertently made a stance connected their opinions connected cheery rights,” Gouker said. “Even if they accidental that it’s conscionable policy, they’ve benignant of enactment themselves connected the broadside that they judge successful - and that broadside is homophobia.”

Gouker said she and different students program to instrumentality this contented to the schoolhouse committee with the extremity of reversing the school’s determination and encouraging the territory to reinterpret what it considers to beryllium governmental speech.