Columbian Flag In US Class Room Initiates

Flap At Freedom High 

Others show flags from their homelands Wednesday as they gather around suspended student Juan Balcazar, center.

The Tampa Tribune Published: Oct 7, 2004 by Michele Sager - TAMPA - At the school named in honor of basic American rights, student Juan Balcazar said his were stripped from him last week when school administrators told him to put away his Colombian flag.
The student at Freedom High in New Tampa repeatedly draped the flag from his backpack. He then refused to give up the flag and was suspended from school for three days.

That incident spurred other students to protest Tuesday in Freedom's cafeteria.

They taped hand-drawn flags from various mostly Hispanic countries to their shirts. This incited an altercation between various groups of students in the cafeteria, according to witnesses. Five of the students wearing the flags were suspended from school for five days.

Balcazar, who is Colombian, said he doesn't understand why the school made a big deal out of his flag.

``It was just a small flag I had hanging from my backpack,'' he said. ``I have had that flag at school all last year, and nothing was said. I'm proud of my heritage and my flag, and this is Hispanic Heritage Month.''

Freshman Sandra Cardenas was one of the students who decided to stand up for Balcazar's rights.

``My friends and I were really upset, so we made flags and pinned them to our shirts,'' she said. ``But one of the students told us that if we like our flags so much, we should go back to our own country.''

Cardenas said that statement upset many of the students, and shouting matches started between various groups.

``People were up in each other's faces, but no one was hitting or punching each other,'' she said. ``I don't understand why there are U.S. flags all over this school but we can't be proud of our heritage, too.''

Freedom Principal Richard Bartels said no student was suspended because he or she possessed a flag. He said they were suspended for breaking the rules.

``We don't allow any flag to be used as an ornament or improperly displayed,'' he said. ``If it was a U.S. flag hanging from his backpack, the same action would have been taken.''

Freedom's campus is covered in patriotic images. The buildings are red, white and blue, and the mascot is a Patriot. Bartels said any flag on campusmust be properly displayed.

Understanding The Rules

According to the school district's student handbook, ``Students are encouraged to show love for their country and allegiance to its flag.'' However, school district spokesman Mark Hart noted that principals have the discretion to make policies to prevent problems at their schools.

The handbook reads, ``Students have the right to recite and display their feeling of patriotism providing they do not interrupt the educational rights of others.''

Bartels said the improper display of flags can disrupt the school because it could offend other students. Displaying various types of flags in school has long been a controversial subject.

Recently, the Pinellas County school district considered banning the Confederate battle flag from schools in the district, but ultimately decided against a districtwide policy. They instead left it up to the individual schools to decide whether the flags could be displayed.

Parent Luz Gonzalez said the situation at Freedom is different because the flags represent national pride and Bartels' policy will only cause disturbances, not prevent them.

``It is very upsetting to the entire Hispanic community that goes here,'' she said. ``I don't understand how this could happen in this country and at a school named Freedom.''

When Freedom opened in 2002, some parents were concerned about tensions among the students, since they were being merged from the different communities of New Tampa, Lutz and the University area. Hart said about 16 percent of Freedom's students are Hispanic.

Freedom sophomore Mildred Flores said she never felt a divide at the school until Tuesday.

``When those kids were telling us to go back to our countries, I couldn't believe it,'' she said. ``There has never been any tensions here, and now everyone is so angry.``

Enforcing The Rules

Bartels has a reputation among his students and staff as being strict with discipline issues. Bartels previously has noted that his tough policies have made Freedom the safe and successful school it is today.

Since he wasn't present when the five students were suspended Tuesday, Bartels spent Wednesday investigating the incident. He said he plans on meeting with the five suspended students and parents today to discuss the issue and might rescind some of the suspensions.

``Some of these students may have gotten caught up in this without knowing what was going on, so I want to talk with everyone involved,'' he said.

Bartels said he stands behind the suspension of Balcazar because he refused to follow school policy. Bartels also will go on the school's morning television show today to discuss the issue with the entire student body and how students can properly show their national pride.

For example, students are allowed to wear a shirt with a flag imprinted on it if it was made that way. Many Freedom students said they plan to wear flag shirts Friday in protest of what happened to the six students.

Bartels also noted that students were allowed to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month in other ways, such as appearing on the morning television show and participating in an essay contest.

Reporter Michele Sager can be reached at (813) 977-2854, Ext. 32.

TAMPA - Four of the five students suspended from Freedom High School for incidents that started after the display of a Colombian flag by another student have had their punishments rescinded.
Principal Richard Bartels met with those students and their parents Thursday morning and decided to lift their suspensions.

Student Juan Balcazar was suspended last week after repeatedly draping a Colombian flag from his backpack. Balcazar said he had the flag for Hispanic Heritage Month and was honoring his heritage, but the school does not allow such displays of flags.

When Balcazar refused to give up the flag, he was suspended for willful disobedience.

That prompted five more students to protest Tuesday in the cafeteria by wearing hand- drawn flags pinned to their shirts. The incident led to an altercation with other students in the cafeteria, and the five students with flags were suspended.

After talking with four of the students, Bartels decided to lift the suspensions. He said it was not fair to the five students when other students who could not be identified went unpunished. He also noted that some of the five had never been in trouble before.

The fifth student involved in the cafeteria incident did not show up for the meeting Thursday. Bartels said he expected to lift that student's suspension once he has heard from the student and parents.

At a news conference Thursday, Bartels said he stood behind the suspension of Balcazar and Bartels' policy of banning the improper display of flags on campus.

The room where Bartels spoke was decorated with two framed pictures of the American flag. According to his policy, those flags are acceptable because they are properly displayed.

``Flags of all nations deserve the respect we grant to the handling of the U.S. flag,'' Bartels told the students, on the school's Thursday morning television show. ``These are not ornaments. They represent the symbol of a nation and should be accorded that respect.''

School district policy allows students to display their feelings of patriotism as long as they do not interrupt the educational rights of others.

Bartels said Balcazar was not suspended because he had the Colombian flag but because he refused to turn it in to administrators.

``If he had just turned it in, he would have gone back to class, and it would have never been an issue,'' he said.

The school's policy is not a written rule, but Bartels said he believed the students knew about it.

``Every rule is not specified in the handbook,'' Bartels said. ``It's like a constitution that is adapted to changing situations. We can't spell out every conceivable issue.''

Freshman Sandra Cardenas was one of the students who met with Bartels Thursday. She said she was glad her punishment was reversed and said she understood his viewpoint.

``I'm really glad I'm not suspended, and I hope this won't stay on my record,'' she said. ``And I can see that he is the principal and has a right to enforce the rules.''

But Cardenas said that since she has received media attention for the incident, she does not feel accepted at the school.

``People don't understand why I've made a big deal about this, and talk about me behind my back,'' she said. ``My close friends still support me, but a lot of the students just don't understand.''

Cardenas said that because some students told the Hispanic youngsters to go back to their country, tensions have been high.

Bartels said he had encouraged students to talk to administrators about any problems at the school.

Cardenas's mother, Luz Gonzalez, along with other parents, went to the Hillsborough County Commission's first Hispanic Community meeting Thursday night looking for answers to what happened at Freedom. Gonzalez waited two hours for her turn to ask questions.

Other parents got tired of waiting and left, but Gonzalez stayed. She never got the chance to speak at the meeting because she was told they were out of time. They instead were directed to meet privately with a school official after the meeting.

As for Balcazar, he said he was ready to leave the incident behind him. He said students still displayed flags, but found other ways. Some students planned to protest what happened by wearing flag shirts today. Bartels said that as long as the flag is imprinted on the shirt, that is acceptable.

``I don't agree with what the school did, but I've done my time, and I'm just going back to class,'' Balcazar said. Reporter Michele Sager can be reached at (813) 977-2854.