Three Bloomington Kennedy seniors were barred from attending their commencement ceremonies on Wednesday evening because they brought a Confederate flag to school on Tuesday.
Dan Fredlin, one of the three seniors who was suspended, said, “We’re all big fans of the Dukes of Hazard. It’s just showing we have our own style and aren’t going to conform to whatever anyone else thinks.”
The school officials claim that at least one of the students waved and carried the flag in the parking lot. The students argued that they never removed the flags off their trucks.
The three boys were suspended for three days which includes graduation. The school officials state they asked the students to remove the flags.
Officials state the Student Code of Conduct prohibits behavior that might provoke or offend other students. Rick Kaufman, the Executive Director of Community Relations of Bloomington Kennedy High School said, “We are very clear that the Confederate flag is a symbol of hatred, bigotry and racism…..It’s truly unfortunate that the bad decision they made will prevent them from walking across the stage in graduation.” Kaufman went on to state that the school has dealt with students bringing confederate flags to school before.
The students are arguing that the punishment doesn’t fit the crime. Their act was out of rebellion and not racism. Fredlin said, “The confederate army was in rebellion to the U.S. Army who were about money and power. We never took it as racial or anything like that.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota has stated that the students would probably not have a case in court. Charles Samuelson with the ACLU of Minnesota says, “If the authorities can make the claim that the presence of the flag can reasonably disrupt the educational process then they can censor it.”
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