SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Students from a Miami-Dade high school have been disciplined after posing for a photo with a Confederate flag last week.
“I didn’t think they were going to do crazy stuff like that,” said sophomore Gavin Roberts. “I thought they were just going to be like ‘Trump won’, but they have to go the extreme and do crazy stuff like that.”
Roberts is referring a photo taken by another student at Coral Reef High School. The photo shows the student, in school uniform, holding the Confederate flag while wearing the Trump campaign’s signature “Make America Great Again” hat. Two other students were also said to be involved.
No crime was committed, but many were outraged by the photo. “It felt evil to me,” said sophomore Dajon Clark. “I didn’t like it.”
The flag is seen by many by as an overt symbol of racism. Some students said there is no place for a symbol like this on their campus. “The people that I know, the friends I hang out with that aren’t the same race as me, they’re cool people. Good people. I never thought there were people like that in our school,” Clark said.
The Miami-Dade School system released a statement which read in part, “Miami-Dade County Public Schools respects and encourages freedom of speech and expression, but our priority is to ensure we maintain an environment conducive to teaching and learning.”
The statement went on to say the three 12th grade students involved with the photo were disciplined in accordance with the district’s code of student conduct.
“Sadly it’s instigatory. It’s someone trying to get attention,” said parent James McCall.
Similar incidents have happened in school systems across the country since the election. However, students like Gavin and Dajon hope a positive message will prevail. “What that flag represents, what it stood for back in the day — that’s crazy,” Roberts said.
The statement also said the students involved expressed regret for their actions.
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