Middle school bans camouflage and all patriotic clothes

[Aplomb]

http://cbs4denver.com/topstories/loc...094003340.html

Tensions Prompt School To Alter Dress Code

Mike Hooker Reporting

CBS4) WESTMINSTER, Colo. The immigration debate and recent demonstrations over the issue have led to a change in the dress code for a middle school in Adams County.

Students at Shaw Heights Middle School are no longer allowed to wear anything that is patriotic, including camouflage pants, because they have become a political symbol for a version of patriotism, CBS4 reports.

"It upsets me that we cannot support our troops -- the military," said Kirsten Golgart, an eighth grader who was told she'd be suspended if she didn't change her clothes. "We can't support our country. If we're American, I think we should be proud to be an American."

A letter went home to parents last week that explained for student safety, no clothes were allowed with political messages or flags of any sort.

Myla Shepherd, the principal, said that tensions over the immigration issue were apparent when more than 20 students came to school wearing camouflage jackets and pants, apparently to show what they call their patriotism and American pride.

"We started seeing name calling," Shepherd said. "Safety is my first concern, so I'm going to do things to keep us from getting to a point where anybody is hurt or being suspended for fighting."

She said the dress code alteration diffused the tension immediately.

"I don't think that's a solution, though because you're punishing 400 students because the action of 100," said Eric Golgart, Kirsten's father.

He gathered signatures against the dress code, but the principal said that for safety, freedom of speech can be limited in schools, even as students get involved in the national immigration discussion.

In Longmont, the principal of Skyline High School banned all flags, including the American flag, because of tensions related to immigration reform.

Shaw Heights Middle School is located at 8780 Circle Dr. in Westminster, and it is part of Adams County School District 50.

(© MMVI CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Hey kids, how about if your parents come to pick you up from school wearing camouflage? Have them wear patriotic threads for parent teacher conferences, too. And don't forget to always wave well-wishes and thanks whenever military aircraft fly overhead. I don't like the dress code, but I think the kids in this area just outside of north Denver are awesome!!! You guys rock!

[American Patriot]

I reposted this over on the FR site.

I couldnt find where it had already been posted. Aplomb, if you're NOT (which I think you are) a Freeper, you ought to be.

Rick

[American Patriot]

My letter to the Super at the school board level:

Mr. Straface,

As a man who served 26 years in the military defending this nation against enemies, a father and grandfather, and a resident of the State of Colorado and, as an American, I find the decision by the principle of Shaw Middle school absolutely amazing, and repugnant.

This IS the United States of America. I've have heard over and over that parents have been told not to limit their children's "freedom of expression" in many ways. So, basically the schools in many areas of the country, including the Denver area have stated that it is a good thing to allow freedom of "expression". However, when children are showing their "true colors" -- those being the Red, White and Blue, you BAN IT?????

You people are absolutely disgraceful to this country, to MY uniform and to those children. This IS America, the United States of America. This is NOT RED AMERIKA!

I expect you, as Superintendent to over rule this ridiculous ban placed on patriotic symbols and clothing, ASAP.

I didn't stand toe-to-toe with enemies of this country so you, your priniciples, and your school board could run my country down. I'm damned TIRED of people running MY country down. It is refreshing to see children who see their country, and themselves as Americans again. Fix it, or quit.

Rick Donaldson, MSGT, USAF, RETIRED

[American Patriot]

Charen: The flag, the schools, the immigrants, and us
Townhall.com ^ | 4-7-06 | Mona Charen

The flag, the schools, the immigrants, and us

By Mona Charen

Apr 7, 2006

Concerned that the raging immigration debate would spark violence, officials in at least two schools in Colorado have banned students from bringing flags to school, the AP reports. Predictably, this news and associated rumors have lit up the phone lines at call-in shows around the nation.

Conservatives are right to bristle at the idea that the American flag is being treated as a "fighting word." But a few clarifications seem to be in order. 1) It wasn't just the American flag that was banned, but all flags. 2) Conservatives respect the principle that school officials ought to have wide latitude to govern student behavior in the interests of order and discipline. Until 1969, principals and teachers had unquestioned authority in such matters. But, as I noted in my book "Do-Gooders" (just out in paperback -- shameless plug), the Supreme Court undermined that authority. During the Vietnam War, students had been disciplined for wearing black armbands to school in protest against the war. Liberal judges tended to like war protesters and dislike authority. Judge Abe Fortas wrote for the majority, "It can hardly be argued that students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to free speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate." Justice Hugo Black filed a blistering dissent: "Uncontrolled and uncontrollable liberty is an enemy to domestic peace. . . . School discipline, like parental discipline, is an integral and important part of training our children to be good citizens."

News spreads fast and rumors spread faster. The AP points out that contrary to rumor, the American flag was not lowered from the flagpole at a Denver public school. Nor have children who wore red, white and blue clothing been sent home to change.

On the other hand, some schools have banned the wearing of camouflage clothing, which children had donned to show support for American troops. And at Reagan High School in Houston, the principal ran up the Mexican flag (albeit below the Stars and Stripes and the Texas flag) to show solidarity with his immigrant pupils.

That man was well intentioned, but misguided. His gesture was evidence of an attitude that has aggravated, rather than alleviated the immigration problem. Too many Americans, particularly those who control the schools, have abandoned the goal of assimilation -- the idea that Americans had a right to demand that immigrants learn our language, abide by our laws, adopt our customs and abandon loyalty to any other power. Exalting multiculturalism and multilingualism, and encouraging separatism on the part of minorities, liberals are in effect asking Americans not just to open their doors but to tear down the house.

This is not to suggest that illegal immigration would not be a problem if we assimilated immigrants better. Resentment toward illegals is to some extent unavoidable. They depress wages, increase crime and burden localities with health, housing and education costs. Above all, they have flouted the law. It is grossly unfair that thousands of would-be immigrants wait patiently in their countries for an opportunity to come to the U.S. and yet those who cut in front of the line get away with it.

Most galling to many Americans (both native born and naturalized) is the attitude of entitlement displayed by the illegals who thronged the streets in recent weeks. To stage a demonstration demanding anything when you are not in the country legally is an act of supreme chutzpah. (Chutzpah is a Yiddish word: A man murders his parents and then throws himself on the mercy of the court on the grounds that he is an orphan.) And why not? When immigrants arrive, they find school systems bending over backward to offer bilingual education, Mexican pride festivals and Spanish language options at the bank, supermarket and post office. Our intellectual climate tells them that separatism is the way to go.

This is not to suggest that Mexican immigrants abandon pride in their origins or forsake their cultural heritage, merely that they do what every other immigrant group has done -- integrate in public and save the mother tongue for the home. It would also be fitting for them to remember that gratitude is becoming; entitlement is not.

The fashion of multiculturalism has sparked exactly the opposite of what its propounders intended. Hostility to foreigners has increased because Americans have declining confidence that immigrants want to or can assimilate into the larger society.

Mona Charen is the author of Do-Gooders and Useful Idiots.

[American Patriot]

FLAGGING ON PATRIOTISM 101 (multiculturalism in--patriotism out, at public schools)
NY POST ^ | April 7, 2006 | EDITORIALS

****Our schools from coast to coast are polluted with multicultural curriculum. It's one thing to pay for higher education and buy into the left's view of multiculturalism. But when kids are attending public school on the taxpayer's dime, they'd better be learning American history.....If we don't make a stand, we should expect the same problems here that Europe has experienced. Manhattan

****......we are still the "shining city on a hill" that President Ronald Reagan said we were. There should be no apology ever for a country that has done more good than any other....... No educator should be afraid to unequivocally state the moral superiority and greatness of a land that gave millions in aid to Indonesia's tsunami victims, overlooking the fact that this country had celebrations of our getting attacked on 9/11. Old Bridge, N.J.

**** I am sick and tired of reading about schools in this country banning the American flag. To me, it is the greatest symbol of freedom the world will ever see. We aren't perfect, but there's no place else I'd want to live. Eleven million illegals would agree with me on that. It boils my blood when all these people defend their anti-patriotism as an expression of their First Amendment right. Hicksville

(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...

[American Patriot]

WOOT!

Shaw Heights Principal Surrenders (dress code to allow American flags again, Colorado middle school)
850am KOA website ^ | Thursday April 6th, 2006 | 850am KOA website

BREAKING NEWS: SHAW HEIGHTS PRINCIPAL SURRENDERS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 6, 2006

Shaw Heights Middle School Ends Neutral Dress Code

Westminster, CO: Due to the exemplary behavior of the students at Shaw Heights Middle School and the progress made throughout the week, as well as Attorney General John Suthers news release regarding the display of flags in schools, Myla Shepherd, Shaw Heights Middle School principal has announced that the neutral dress code will end effective Friday, April 7, 2006 at 8:00 a.m.

[American Patriot]

The REAL reason the commie principle backed down was the following information"

AG Suthers official announcement -

Attorney General Suthers Comments On The Display Of U.S. Flag In Public Schools

04/06/2006

Suthers: Colorado schools may not ban reasonable displays of U.S. flag

(DENVER) �At the urging of Attorney General John Suthers, Commissioner of Education William Moloney today sent a copy of Colorado Revised Statute 27-2-108.5, concerning the proper and legal display of the flag of the United States, to all Colorado superintendents.

�The statute is clear,� said Suthers. �No Colorado school has the authority to prohibit students from reasonably displaying the flag of the United States on their person or property. While schools can and should act to prevent conduct by students that interferes with the education process, their remedy must be narrowly tailored and cannot include a general ban on displaying the American flag.�

Attorney General Suthers urged Commissioner Moloney to provide schools with a copy of the statute following actions taken by principals of certain schools which prohibited students from displaying the American flag in any manner.

C.R.S. 27-2-108.5 reads, �The right to display reasonably the flag of the United States shall not be infringed with respect to the display: (a) On an individual�s person; (b) Anywhere on an individual�s personal or real property. . .�

Here is her original letter:

Letter from Shaw Heights Middle School Principal Myla Shepherd to parents regarding new dress code:

March 31, 2006

Dear Parent and Guardians:

The safety of our students is a main concern at Shaw Heights Middle School. The issue of illegal immigration that has been featured in the media and discussed by legislators at federal and state levels has caused some unrest and increased tensions among students at our school. Some clothing worn recently by some of our students has created a tense and sometimes hostile environment in our school over the last few days. This is not the environment we want for our students.

In order to rebuild relationships and avoid further tension, I have altered our school�s dress code. I am asking students to dress neutrally so that we may shift our focus back to learning. I believe this will help calm some of the frustration and hurt feelings generated this week.

You and your student can help by complying with our current dress code and by students not wearing:

# clothing that makes a political statement # camouflage clothing # banners, flags, bandanas of all types

Our goal is to live up to our �Falcon Four� by showing respect, responsibility, integrity and pride at all times. My goal is to keep this the best middle school in the city � safe and focused on learning. I will keep you updated and aware of our progress at Shaw Heights.

I appreciate your support. Please contact me with any questions.

Sincerely,

Myla Shepherd Principal

The ONLY reason they backed down is because the CO State Legislature passed legislation today that said ANY school who refuses to allow the American Flag will be cut off from ALL funding. I heard that on the news earlier today.

[American Patriot]

Students Suspended For Wearing Shirts With American Flags(USMC Shirts also)
TheDenverChannel.com ^ | April 6, 2006

DENVER -- Several students at Shaw Heights Middle School have been disciplined for wearing shirts that depict the American flag, an act that is in direct violation of the public school's recent ban on all flags, depictions of flags, or flag colors on student clothing.

One student said he was suspended for wearing a DARE program shirt with a flag behind the logo. Another student, Katie Golgart, said she was suspended for wearing a Marine Corps shirt.

"I'm gonna going to school and wear another Marine shirt just to show that I support my brother and what he does," Haas said.

The students' parents are behind them 100 percent and are willing to fight the schools' ban, saying that it's a fight that they are going to win.

"I did let her (the principal) know that I would fight her on this because I knew I was right. And that's exactly what it is. We are right to wear our flag. We are right for my daughter to wear her United States Marine Corps shirt to support the Marines -- future, present and past," said Eric Golgart, who is the son of a U.S. Marine.

Elizabeth Haas, told reporters that she was told to turn her Marine Corps shirt inside out and when she did and then turned it back the right way, she was suspended. Haas, an 11-year-old sixth grader, said that she wears a USMC shirt every day to support her brother, who is in the Corps, and she wasn't aware of the ban until she was suspended.

All of the students who were suspended said they had a connection to the military -- either they have a family member now serving or someone in the family had once served.

(Excerpt) Read more at thedenverchannel.com ...

[American Patriot]

Thought you all might get a kick out of this....


Elizabeth Haas


Katie Gohlgart


Katie & Tim Kerstiens


The Shirt that got Anthony Medina suspended


TANCREDO LETTER SENT TO SHAW HEIGHTS MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL, MYLA SHEPHERD

Dear Principal Shepherd,

I was astonished to learn that officials at Shaw Heights recently threatened an honor student with disciplinary action for wearing a red sweater, a white T-shirt, and blue jeans. The student was apparently reprimanded for violating the newly formulated dress code banning "clothing that makes a political statement," purportedly because of the color combination she chose.

To say that it is disturbing to see school administrators spending their time and limited resources scrutinizing the color combinations of students' clothes in search of hidden political messages would be an understatement. As a former educator, I am frankly shocked by how far afield the public education apparatus appears to have wandered.

When teachers like Jay Bennish and Ward Churchill transform our classrooms into personal platforms to disseminate delusional and nihilistic propaganda, the education establishment seems too paralyzed to respond. Yet when students take the initiative to passively express pro-American sentiments by, for example, sewing a stars-and-stripes flag patch on a backpack (or choosing a red, white, and blue outfit, evidently) school administrators are quick to discipline, punish, regulate and suppress.

I believe this kind of double standard sends the wrong message to students, and I hope that you and other administrators who have recently implemented these kinds of misguided policies will seriously consider rescinding them.

Sincerely,

Tom Tancredo
Member of Congress

LETTER SENT HOME TO PARENTS FROM PRINCIPAL MYLA SHEPHERD OF SHAW HEIGHTS MIDDLE SCHOOL PARENTS

April 7, 2006

Dear Parents and Guardians:

During the week of March 27th, students were observed exhibiting behavior that was interfering with instruction. This behavior appeared to be directly related to students’ attire. Our goal at Shaw Heights Middle School is to provide a safe learning environment for our children/students. The neutral dress code that was implemented as a result of widespread student behavior has been very beneficial. Thank you for your support in helping us keep a safe and orderly learning environment at Shaw Heights Middle School by having your child adhere to our neutral dress code. We appreciate your cooperation.

On Friday, March 31 we sent home a letter detailing the neutral dress code, specifically asking that students not wear the following: clothing that makes a political statement, camouflage clothing, and banners, flags or bandanas of any type.

I would like to clarify the dress code, as there seems to be confusion about colors of clothing. Students may wear all colors – red, white, blue, green, etc. They may wear combinations of colors – red, white, blue, green, etc. They simply may not wear attire that displays a flag. We will continue to monitor student behavior and as the situation improves we will consider returning to our original dress code.

As the weather gets warmer, we want to remind you and your child about our dress code that specifies three-inch wide shoulder straps, shirts that cover midriffs, skirts and shorts that are mid-thigh in length

We remain diligent in maintaining a safe learning environment for all children. The “Falcon Four” helps maintain that focus through respect, responsibility, integrity and pride at all times.

I hope your family enjoys a wonderful Spring Break. I look forward to seeing our students return on Monday, April 17, and to the rest of a great school year.

Sincerely,

Myla Shepherd,
Principal Shaw Heights Middle School

Elizabeth Haas, told reporters that she was told to turn her Marine Corps shirt inside out and when she did and then turned it back the right way, she was suspended. Haas, an 11-year-old sixth grader, said that she wears a USMC shirt every day to support her brother, who is in the Corps, and she wasn't aware of the ban until she was suspended.

LOL!

[Brian Baldwin]

What is surprising is that anyone would be shocked at such commie behavior from our educational system. I have watched and combatted such actions for several years now. I usually win by sending the same letter to my congress persons each and every day during the struggle and get several others to do the same. Clog their email boxes and mail boxes with the complaint and they'll usually act. Some won't, but that's because they fully support the eviceration of our nation. Always be sure to state in your letters that if they don't act by a certain date you'll not vote for them even if they do eventually do something.

[American Patriot]

Colorado professor fabricates Native history [Ward Churchill]
Missoulian ^ | June 18, 2006 | Jodi Rave

It's not always easy for university administrators to discern authentic Native professors from those who wish they were - or try to be.

Ward Churchill of the University of Colorado tops the list of poseur professors. Throughout the years, he's become a magnet for lost Indians and Native romanticists.

But his disputed personal claim of being Cherokee falls below a damning list of professional problems.

And on Tuesday, a CU committee recommended firing the ethnic studies professor for research misconduct.

This is no light charge.

It's the first time the CU Standing Committee on Research Misconduct has voted to ax a professor in its 17-year history.

The committee found Churchill guilty of plagiarism and fabricating material in his academic writings. Among his sloppy research, Churchill invented details about my tribe, the Mandans.

Tribal oral tradition deserves its due.

Churchill, however, succeeded in mangling it.

I've never been a fan of Churchill, a professor I met as a journalism student attending CU in Boulder.

My mother was a Spotted Bear, a Mandan-Hidatsa from the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota. I'm a daughter of the Maetsi-Dogah, or Knife Clan. My great-great-grandfather, Spotted Bear - the son of Raven Chief - descended from the Mandan villages typically built along the tributaries of the upper Missouri River. My great-great-grandmother, Stella Tail, was Hidatsa.

Most people know my tribes through the explorers Lewis and Clark, who wintered with my people in 1804 and 1805. The Mandan and Hidatsa villages along the Knife River in present-day North Dakota were the center of a vast trade network on the Northern Plains.

By the time Lewis and Clark arrived in 1804, we had already been in contact with white traders. A smallpox outbreak hit our tribes in 1782, more than 20 years before we ever saw men from the Corps of Discovery.

A smallpox epidemic in 1837 nearly wiped out my Mandan ancestors, reducing their numbers from about 2,000 people to fewer than 150.

Our oral histories speak of a time of incomprehensible despair.

This story needs no embellishment. But Churchill decided to make up his own details.

Among his fantasies: The U.S. Army intentionally spread smallpox among the Mandan by distributing infected blankets from an infirmary in St. Louis - goods hauled up the Missouri on the St. Peter's steamboat.

He then pawned his lies to other scholars.

First, the army wasn't even posted around our villages at the time Churchill claims. And no proof exists, orally or in text, to show blankets came from a hospital.

But our tribal people have long said the spread of smallpox was intentional.

I recently talked with Gerard Baker, a Mandan-Hidatsa and leading oral historian for our tribes. Baker, park superintendent at Mount Rushmore, is a fluent Hidatsa speaker and comes from a traditional family. He's also lived and worked at many of our historical village sites along the Missouri.

Baker has talked with tribal elders and spent countless hours looking at the journals of the fur traders. He's convinced traders deliberately spread smallpox to eliminate us as middlemen in the trade network.

Bernard Pratte Jr., captain of the St. Peter's, was the son of an American Fur Company owner who bought the Missouri branch in 1834. Three years later, Pratte insisted on keeping a smallpox-ridden man on board as the crew made its way toward the Mandan and Hidatsa villages.

The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara populations - known today as the Three Affiliated Tribes - were nearly eliminated within months. The white trade flourished in our area well into the 1850s, said Baker.

A CU committee investigating Churchill's work devoted 44 pages to smallpox and Mandans in its 125-page report released last month. The committee concluded Churchill's Mandan writings “created myths under the banner of academic scholarship.”

Churchill made feeble attempts after the fact to acknowledge the oral history of my people.

In his defense, he told an investigative committee he never tried to corroborate any of his writings because he considered his account to be “rather self-evident - such stories have been integral to Native oral histories for centuries. I've heard them all my life.”

Among his sources, he cited a TV series, “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.”

The committee said he “disrespectfully introduced Indian sources only belatedly as a defense against this allegation.”

Far be it for Churchill to seek out a real Native expert, such as Baker.

But Churchill has already done his damage in trying to be a voice for Native people. My tribe's oral history fades in light of his self-made scandal.

The CU professor demonstrates how artificial Native thought can damage legitimate indigenous views.