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Student denied diploma after wearing Mexican flag over graduation gown

  

Category:  News & Politics

Via:  texan1211  •  3 years ago  •  20 comments

By:   MSN

Student denied diploma after wearing Mexican flag over graduation gown
A North Carolina high school student was reportedly denied his diploma for wearing a Mexican flag over his graduation gown.

S E E D E D   C O N T E N T



A North Carolina high school student was denied his diploma for wearing a Mexican flag over his graduation gown.

Ever Lopez draped a Mexican flag over his blue gown at Asheboro High School's graduation ceremony Thursday night.

Livestreamed video footage from the ceremony shows the principal ask him to take the flag off. After an unsuccessful attempt to take it off, he was handed his diploma holder, which the other students also received. But after walking across the stage, he was denied his actual diploma.

Lopez told ABC News, "When I got up there I went for the handshake and I wasn't thinking nothing of it and I heard her say, 'You can't wear that.' And I was in shock and confused. I was like, 'What?' She was like, 'The flag. You can't wear that.'"

The incident has sparked outrage and led to a protest outside the school Friday. However, the school district insists that Lopez's actions "violated the ceremony's dress code" and "the incident is not about the Mexican flag."

© Adolfo Hurtado A student wears a Mexican flag over his graduation gown at his graduation ceremony, in an image taken from video provided by graduation attendee Adolfo Hurtado.

Lopez said he wore the flag to honor his family as he's the first to graduate from high school in his immediate family.

"It means everything to me," Lopez told ABC News of wearing the Mexican flag. "My parents, my whole family, is from over there. I did it for them because they had a rough childhood; they didn't get the scholarship that I got, or they didn't get to go to school like I did. So ... representing my flag and getting a diploma was really important to me because I was basically doing it for my family."

Lopez said that Asheboro high school asked him to apologize as a condition of receiving his diploma.

"I don't know why I should apologize, when it should be heard, because I did nothing wrong," Lopez said.

In a statement to ABC News on Sunday, the Asheboro city school district said that Lopez's diploma has been available for pick up since Friday and that an apology has never been requested, expected or required.

© Adolfo Hurtado A student wearing a Mexican flag over his graduation gown at his graduation ceremony walks away after receiving his diploma holder in an image taken from video provided by graduation attendee Adolfo Hurtado.

Afterward, Lopez's family was escorted off the school property "after a request was made by Principal [Penny] Crooks," Asheboro police told ABC News. Asheboro police officers were working the graduation in "an approved off-duty capacity."

Lopez has still yet to receive his diploma.

Asheboro City schools said in a statement that the graduation dress code was shared with students ahead of time and allowed for students to decorate their graduation caps, but "the wearing of a flag of any kind is a violation of the dress code." In livestream footage of the graduation a number of students are seen with alterations to their caps, featuring handwritten messages, drawings or flowers.

The school district said Friday in a statement that it supports "our students' expressions of their heritage in the appropriate time and place."

"We continue working to resolve this issue with the student and his family so that he will receive his diploma from Asheboro High School. He has worked very hard and we commend him on this great achievement. We are confident in his abilities and we know he has a bright future ahead of him," the statement added.

© Adolfo Hurtado A student wears a Mexican flag over his graduation gown at his graduation ceremony, in an image taken from video provided by graduation attendee Adolfo Hurtado.

In a follow-up statement the school district said: "This incident is not about the Mexican flag. Students were encouraged to express their identity by decorating their mortar boards. A number of students followed the protocol and had the Mexican flag and other representations appropriately displayed during the ceremony."

Lopez told ABC News no one ever discussed that bringing a flag wouldn't be permitted.

On Friday, a group of around 30 people gathered outside the high school to show support for Lopez, demanding he receive his diploma. An online petition has also garnered more than 73,000 signatures as of Saturday afternoon.

"Well, it's crazy. I didn't expect it, all the community to come together like that," Lopez said of the support. "I was just walked out of school. I was kind of like down. I was like, 'Dang man I didn't get my diploma and stuff.' ... It is crazy because the next day I woke up and I had people calling me, saying, 'Oh man, you got interviews, you got interviews, you got interviews.' And I'm like, 'What?' And then what shocked me the most, other than the interviews, was the protest at my school because I didn't know about that."


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Texan1211
Professor Principal
1  seeder  Texan1211    3 years ago

He should probably go by school and pick up his diploma.

 
 
 
Paula Bartholomew
Professor Participates
1.1  Paula Bartholomew  replied to  Texan1211 @1    3 years ago

They most likely will mail it to him.

 
 
 
Greg Jones
Professor Participates
2  Greg Jones    3 years ago

What if some kid wanted to wear a Confederate flag to honor his ancestors?

jrSmiley_26_smiley_image.gif

 
 
 
Texan1211
Professor Principal
2.1  seeder  Texan1211  replied to  Greg Jones @2    3 years ago

The progressive liberals would shit their beds.

 
 
 
Ozzwald
Professor Quiet
2.1.1  Ozzwald  replied to  Texan1211 @2.1    3 years ago

The progressive liberals would shit their beds.

And conservative republicans would put him at the head of the line.

 
 
 
Texan1211
Professor Principal
2.1.2  seeder  Texan1211  replied to  Ozzwald @2.1.1    3 years ago

Such ridiculousness.

Carry on.....and on...............and on

 
 
 
Tacos!
Professor Guide
2.2  Tacos!  replied to  Greg Jones @2    3 years ago

That’s actually why the Pentagon isn’t flying the pride flag this June. Under the last administration, basically anything not the Stars and Stripes is prohibited. But that wasn’t to be anti-pride. It was to prevent flying of the Confederate flag.

 
 
 
Ronin2
Professor Quiet
2.3  Ronin2  replied to  Greg Jones @2    3 years ago

Then they would be a hurtful racist, would have been pulled from the line, and wouldn't have been allowed to attend the graduation. Also their family would get doxed by the ever tolerant left.

 
 
 
charger 383
Professor Silent
3  charger 383    3 years ago

If this is allowed, what will they do next year?

 
 
 
Texan1211
Professor Principal
4  seeder  Texan1211    3 years ago
"It means everything to me," Lopez told ABC News of wearing the Mexican flag. "My parents, my whole family, is from over there. I did it for them because they had a rough childhood; they didn't get the scholarship that I got, or they didn't get to go to school like I did. So ... representing my flag and getting a diploma was really important to me because I was basically doing it for my family."

While it is fine to have pride in where you or your parents came from, I believe that honoring the country that actually afforded him this great opportunity would be in order before honoring the country whcih never afforded his family the same opportunity.

 
 
 
Tacos!
Professor Guide
5  Tacos!    3 years ago
Asheboro City schools said in a statement that the graduation dress code was shared with students ahead of time and allowed for students to decorate their graduation caps, but "the wearing of a flag of any kind is a violation of the dress code."

Why is this such a hard concept to grasp? If they didn’t want everyone to look a certain way, they wouldn’t make you wear the cap and gown in the first place.

In livestream footage of the graduation a number of students are seen with alterations to their caps, featuring handwritten messages, drawings or flowers

Funny how everyone else seemed to get the message.

getting a diploma was really important to me

Then you shouldn’t be fucking around with it. If high school teaches you anything, it should be that you get rewarded for following certain rules. Is there anything this guy thinks he shouldn’t be allowed to do at graduation?

"I don't know why I should apologize, when it should be heard, because I did nothing wrong," Lopez said.

How about because you broke the rules, refused to comply even when reminded of the rules, thereby disrupting graduation for hundreds of other people, and embarrassed and defamed your school with your spectacle. I would say that’s worthy of an apology. However, none is required, Liar.

Lopez's diploma has been available for pick up since Friday and that an apology has never been requested, expected or required
 
 
 
Ronin2
Professor Quiet
5.1  Ronin2  replied to  Tacos! @5    3 years ago

It was a high school diploma; but otherwise agree entirely with your message.

 
 
 
Tacos!
Professor Guide
5.1.1  Tacos!  replied to  Ronin2 @5.1    3 years ago

Thanks. Good catch. I even managed to get back in time to correct it.

 
 
 
FortunateSon
Freshman Silent
6  FortunateSon    3 years ago

There is a time and place for everything.  This was not the time or place.

Why do people think they have the right to hijack venues to be heard?

The right to speak is not the right to force people to listen.

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
7  Buzz of the Orient    3 years ago

If that had been a precedent in American politics, maybe Rashida Tlaib would have been denied her seat in Congress for donning a Palestinian flag to celebrate her election victory.  I still can't get over that.  

Rd485deee3b79d7db557bab11ca0cc74a?rik=s6%2biV0oTnPLI%2bQ&riu=http%3a%2f%2fisraelstreet.org%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2f2018%2f11%2fRashida.png&ehk=qiJK%2bqatlmdaXkoNoAhdVyQ4gln%2bIuZtCTuVR4J%2f2c0%3d&risl=&pid=ImgRaw

 
 
 
1stwarrior
Professor Participates
7.1  1stwarrior  replied to  Buzz of the Orient @7    3 years ago

Local celebration - not sanctioned by the city, county or state.  High School graduations are.

 
 
 
Texan1211
Professor Principal
7.2  seeder  Texan1211  replied to  Buzz of the Orient @7    3 years ago

Makes me wonder where anyone's true loyalty lies when they wave flags of other countries.

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
7.2.1  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  Texan1211 @7.2    3 years ago

I think that can depend on the circumstance of why, when and where a flag of a different country is waved.  My point about Tlaib is that it should not have been celebrated as a Palestinian victory when she won her seat.  If she considers herself to be a Palestinian more than an American she should not have been running for Congress. The people who voted for her were Americans, voting for a seat in the American Congress, and the Palestinian territories had nothing to do with it.  

I post my flag as an avatar because no matter where I am in the world my citizenship and my loyalty are Canadian, establishing that due to those here who have slandered me as being otherwise.

 
 
 
Paula Bartholomew
Professor Participates
8  Paula Bartholomew    3 years ago

The student violated the dress code for graduation.  It was as simple as that.

 
 
 
Ed-NavDoc
Professor Quiet
9  Ed-NavDoc    3 years ago

He talked about wearing the flag of his country. Last I knew Ashland, North Carolina was nowhere near Mexico!

 
 

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