Gunderson High School Bans Mexican Flag: Latino Students Take Petition to District Office, Media Outlets

The Issue
On Tuesday of this week, during lunch, there was a fight between a few students. I wasn't there, so I don't know anything about it. As you can imagine, tensions rose in the student body, as they sometimes do after fights. Then, right after school, there was another fairly large fight at our school right outside the front doors. It resulted in the suspension of 5 students. A couple of teachers broke up the fight, but it was pretty rowdy there for a while.

As a result, we got an email from our Assistant Principal of Discipline saying that because of the in-fighting between certain groups of Latino students, he feared that the display of the Mexican Flag on campus could incite some kids to fight. There's been problems all year with pockets of some of our chicano students: who is really "mexican" and who is not. Stuff like, "You don't speak Spanish, so you're not really Mexican," or "You weren't born in Mexico, so you're not really Mexican." Etc. Etc.

So the school banned the display of Mexican Flags today, Cinco de Mayo. Here is the problem. Cinco de Mayo is a National holiday in Mexico and is especially huge in San Jose, where we have a huge population of people whose heritage and familes have strong ties to Mexico. Cinco de Mayo is typically a time when many Latino students show pride of their heritage by displaying the flag. Sometimes flying from their car, or on their purse, or just draped over their shoulders.

The ban incensed many of our students, resulting in this email from ASB president Jorge Rivas, one of my AP students.

JORGE'S LETTER

Dear Ms. Catching,

I received the e-mail with your response to Mr Hophan and I feel it is very unfortunate you didn't have enough time to address me personally, simply because I think this issue is not as much of a concern to Mr. Hophan as it is to me, as a member of the Latino community on campus. Not to mention that I thank him for showing a degree of concern as well, but this issue simply doesnít affect him the way it affects Latinos in the school.

I would like to say that I donít see the connection and that there is no direct connection between the Mexican flag and the issues we are having at school. After all the drama yesterday, there were several students associated with the sureno boys, who after everything was said and done, started flying Mexican flags (when they had previously not been visible.

What you mentioned here, to my understanding, describes the fact that the flags had nothiing to do with the fights being started because the flags were "taken out" after the fights were over. Flags which a lot of people were carrying, not only the people who got in trouble. I talked to Mr.Bejarano already and from him I wasnít able to get a response that was convincing enough in regards to this issue. I think it's very unfortunate you are not here today on campus, otherwise, I would've discussed this issue with you personally. All I can say right now is that I will take the info I have right now, and I will make a
petition to the district which expresses our thoughts, since our expression has been (to a certain degree) infringed in the school. I will get signatures from my classmates and I will explain my concerns to the district. I know thereís no district policy which bans the use of Mexican flags on 5 de Mayo, so I would like to hear a response back from them in regards to the means you have taken, which certainly don't justify the ends. It is clear to me that tomorrow we won't be able to express the love we have for our culture through the use of a Mexican Flag; nonetheless, the district will hear our voice through the use of a petition. I have had petitions at school before, so please be certain that anything I do will be conducted
in an appropriate manner.

I believe that some policies adopted by school officials infringe in a dangerous manner upon the rights of many students (such as in this case) and I also believe that some other policies are not adopted as strictly as they should (such as wearing metal studs, etc., which could in fact harm people if used as a weapon). I undertand though, that that is the way it goes when authority and power are at play.

I would like to thank you and administration, although informally through this e-mail, for your time- although I do see this issue as a concern......

Sincerely,
Jorge Rivas (ASB Secretary)


THE RESPONSE

Dear Jorge,

First of all, let me say that I respect your opinion on this. You are a well -respected young man on this campus, not just by your peers, but staff and administration alike. That being said, let me clarify my comments about the incident yesterday. Yes, when all the drama was occuring, no flags were outwardly visible. However, after school, once things settled down, we had two groups of students posturing one another in front of the school. A few in the group of students who were affiliated with surenos started tucking in shirts (to reveal mexican flags being used as belts) or taking flags out of their pockets. These are not demonstrations of Latino Pride. This was done purely as an intimidation move to the opposing group of students; a means to solidify their identification as surenos.

I believe that Mr.Hophan does take this issue as seriously as you. He is one of your biggest champions. However, he also had an opportunity to observe things yesterday. You cannot appreciate how quickly a situation can get out of hand until you've had to try to control it. Had it not been for the swift actions of several adults on campus, yesterday's drama could have been much bigger...which is definitely something we are trying to move away from when it comes to creating a more positive and realistic image of our school.

I have worked with at-risk and gang involved youth for over a decade. These issues and behaviors are not new to me. As the principal of Gunderson, your safety is my paramount concern. Occasionally, I will need to take a stand on an issue that may be unpopular with some people. However, if the decision aides in the overall safety of the campus, then I will stand by it every time.

Cary Catching, Principal

So the drama escalted. Jorge went to Television stations, the newspapers, and other avenues. He's claiming it's a violation of Tinker vs. Des Moines, which allows for student expression unless there expression is disruptive to the educational process. Jorge says that the flag is not and cannot be linked to violent, anti-social behavior and that it's not a compelling reason. Our principal says, based on the fights and San Jose's history lately of gang violence, that it is.

What do you think?