It’s not uncommon for schools to hold special events where the students are encouraged to dress up or show their support for something.
Maybe it’s a pink day for breast cancer awareness or an ugly Christmas sweater day.
Usually, the events are pretty low key, but for a school in Epping, New Hampshire it’s their “America pride day” that’s causing some controversy.
Or, at least, how they decided to handle at student who chose to wear some Trump gear.
Freshman Ciretta MacKenzie decided to display her American price by pairing a Trump slogan t-shirt with a MAGA hat.
She wasn’t in class long when Principal Brian Ernest pulled her out of class.
He told her that she needed to remove her hat and change her shirt because they violated the school’s dress code.
“It’s just a shirt,” she said.
Ciretta told Boston 25 News, “It only says ‘Trump make America great again’, it doesn’t say anything like build a wall, so I don’t get how it could be offensive, how it could be disrespectful.”
Though she borrowed a sweater and took off her hat, Ciretta feels like her First Amendment fights were violated.
She also says that there is nothing in the school’s dress code about political clothing, though there is a ‘no hat’ policy.
She was also upset at the comments she received from other students.
“Some kids are making [me] feel like I’m uneducated and a bad kid for believing what I want to believe and that’s not right.”
According to the school, two students were asked to change that day and the issue is being investigated.
Ciretta’s dad believes that completely avoiding politics isn’t the right answer:
“We don’t want politics to be totally removed from school, it needs to be in school…the way they went about it was remove everything, you don’t want that.”
Principal Ernest has met with Ciretta’s family.
In a letter, he wrote:
“Since the event of April 8, there has been a multitude of responses, some of which have fact-based information and other responses less factual. I have always been respectful and sincere in my approach to promote civil discourse and free speech/expression.”
“I want our students to be free thinkers and be able to express their opinions in a respectful manner.”
School Superintendent Valerie McKenney added, “We are committed to the creation of a school environment that promotes open and free thought and dialogue.”
The ACLU of New Hampshire is also looking into the incident.
In a statement , legal director Gilles Bissonnette said:
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“T-shirts — as well as hats, buttons, and other wearable items — are a common way for students to express their views on everything from political races to social issues. Unfortunately, schools have a long history of trying to censor this form of peaceful expression. Public schools should create an environment where the free exchange of ideas is fostered, not silenced.”
h/t: Boston 25 News
